Following an expose by a leading UK daily newspaper, the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi is once again in the limelight.
The United Kingdom’s home secretary has referred India’s request for extraditing PNB scam accused Modi to a court for initiating legal proceedings against the diamantaire, the Indian Enforcement Directorate said last week.
“Request for extradition of Nirav Modi to India was sent in July 2018 to the UK. The UK Central Authority of Home Office has confirmed that the extradition request has been sent to the Westminster Magistrate Court for the district judge for further proceedings,” the agency said in a statement.
An exclusive report in the UK paper The Telegraph stated that Modi is reportedly living in a swanky 8-million pound apartment in London’s West End and is now involved in a new diamond business.
Sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said they had been officially informed about UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s move to forward the case to a London court about two days back.
The move takes the process of extraditing and bringing back Nirav Modi to face the law in India to the next stage, the sources said.
Soon, they said, a joint team of the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would travel to the UK to apprise the lawyers about the Indian case and evidence against Nirav Modi, in a similar fashion that was done in the case of another absconding bank-fraud accused, Vijay Mallya.
The ED and the CBI are investigating Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others for alleged money laundering and corruption to perpetrate the alleged scam in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai that was unearthed last year.
The revelation came a day after Nirav Modi’s 30,000 sq ft seaside mansion at Kihim beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district was demolished by authorities using explosives for alleged violation of coastal regulation rules.
Overseas assets of Nirav Modi in Hong Kong, Switzerland, the US, Singapore and the UAE have been attached till now, the agency said.