Nirav Modi, a diamond trader from Gujarat who allegedly defrauded a government bank of more than 11,000 crore, is getting closer to being extradited to India from the UK. Mr. Modi, 51, has filed an appeal to prevent being sent to India to stand prosecution in the significant fraud case involving Punjab National Bank, or PNB. Today at London High Court, he was unsuccessful in his appeal. The decision that permitted the fugitive businessman’s extradition to India was reached by Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who heard the case earlier this year.
‘…We are far from satisfied that Mr Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him,’ the court said, according to news agency PTI. There is more work to perform before Mr. Modi can be transported from London to Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail. Mehul Choksi, who has acquired citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda, is also his uncle and is wanted by Indian authorities on charges of defrauding PNB.
Within 14 days of the High Court’s order, Mr. Modi may appeal it to the British Supreme Court. But there’s a catch: He can only appeal to the Supreme Court if the top court decides that his case involves a legal issue of wide public significance. Mr. Modi is allowed to contact the European Court of Human Rights if this alternative is exhausted. After today’s defeat, his legal team has not yet indicated what they intend to do. The wanted billionaire will continue to be held at the London jail where he was initially housed following his arrest in March 2019.
Both the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation are seeking Mr. Modi. The fugitive and the businesses he reportedly controls took advantage of banking system flaws by requesting letters of undertaking, or LoU, and obtaining credit from overseas banks to pay its merchants.
A bank guarantee known as a LoU is provided for payments made for imports from outside. Mr. Modi and his three companies are accused of stealing LoUs from PNB for many years. These bank guarantees are said to have aided Mr. Modi in obtaining short-term loans from Indian banks with international branches so he could pay raw material suppliers. Then the money was moved through a type of labyrinth.
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