Diamantaire Nirav Modi’s repeated attempts to secure bail have failed as the London High Court rejected his latest plea, keeping him in custody as India seeks his extradition for the massive Punjab National Bank fraud.
Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff
Key Points
- Nirav Modi’s fresh bail petition was rejected by the High Court of Justice in London, continuing his imprisonment.
- Modi is wanted in India for his alleged involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
- The Crown Prosecution Service successfully opposed the bail, supported by a CBI team.
- This marks Modi’s tenth unsuccessful bail petition since his detention in the UK in March 2019.
- Mehul Choksi, a co-accused in the PNB fraud, was arrested in Belgium.
The High Court of Justice in London on Thursday rejected a fresh bail petition filed by diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is held in a prison there and wanted in India in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case orchestrated with his uncle Mehul Choksi, officials said.
Modi approached the court in London on Thursday seeking his release on bail pending the decision on his extradition request, they said.
“Fresh bail petition filed by Nirav Deepak Modi was rejected Thursday by the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London.
“The bail arguments were strongly opposed by the Crown Prosecution Service advocate, who was ably assisted by a strong CBI team consisting of investigating and law officers who travelled to London for this purpose,” the CBI said in a statement.
Where is Nirav Modi now
Modi, 55, is lodged in a UK prison since March 19, 2019.
He is accused of siphoning off Rs 6498.20 crore of the total scam amount.
His extradition has already been approved by the High Court of UK in favour of the Government of India, the agency said.
“This was his 10th bail petition since his detention in the UK, which was successfully defended by the CBI through the Crown Prosecution Service, London,” the agency said.
Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi, a co-accused in the PNB fraud case, was arrested by the authorities in Belgium where he had gone for treatment, it said.
Details of the PNB Fraud
The duo has been accused of siphoning off over Rs 13,000 crore from the PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit.
Officials at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai issued letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) to their firms without any sanctioned limit or cash margin and without making entries in the bank’s central system to evade any scrutiny in case of a default.
LoUs are a guarantee given by a bank on behalf of its client to a foreign bank.
If the client does not repay to the foreign bank, the liability falls on the guarantor bank.
Based on the LoUs issued by the PNB, money was lent by the SBI, Mauritius; Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong; Axis Bank, Hong Kong; Bank of India, Antwerp; Canara Bank, Mamana; and SBI, Frankfurt.
Since the accused companies did not repay the amount availed against the said fraudulent LoUs and FLCs, PNB made the payments, including the overdue interest, to the overseas banks, which advanced buyer’s credit and discounted the bills against the fraudulent LoUs and FLCs issued by the PNB, the CBI alleged.
