In a big win for the Narendra Modi government, a UK court on Thursday has ruled that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi can be extradited to India to stand trial. District Judge Samuel Goozee at the Westminster Magistrates' Court said there were clearly links between Nirav Modi and other connivers, including officials of the bank.
The court said that it was satisfied there is evidence that jeweller Nirav Modi, wanted for fraud and money laundering in the Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, could be convicted.
The extradition judge ruled that the fugitive merchant has a case to answer for in India. The judge ruled that he was convinced that Modi will be given adequate medical treatment and mental health care at Arthur Road Jail, Mumbai. "There is no risk of suicide for Nirav Modi if he is sent to India as he will have access to adequate medical care at Arthur Road jail," the judge said dismissing Modi's "mental health concerns," adding they are not unusual in a man in his circumstances.
Following the order, the court ruling will be sent to the UK Home Office for intitiating extradition process.
The 49-year-old appeared via video link from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London as District Judge Samuel Goozee handed down his judgment at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
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Modi is facing two criminal investigations by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was accused of perpetrating fraud in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai in 2018. Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being probed by various agencies after the bank fraud came to light, following a complaint from PNB that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.
“I am satisfied on the evidence that a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering is established,” said Judge Goozee, as he read out parts of his judgment in court and concluded that he will send his ruling to the UK''s Secretary of State, Priti Patel.
It is the Cabinet minister who is authorised to order an extradition under the India-UK Extradition Treaty and has two months within which to make that decision.
The Home Secretary’s order rarely goes against the court’s conclusions, as she has to consider only some very narrow bars to extradition which are unlikely to apply in this case, including the possible imposition of a death penalty.
Whatever the ministerial decision, the losing side—Nirav Modi—has up to 14 days within which to approach the High Court and seek leave to appeal after the Home Secretary’s decision. Any appeal, if granted, will be heard at the Administrative Division of the High Court in London.
Nirav Modi was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019, and has appeared via videolink from Wandsworth Prison for a series of court hearings in the extradition case. His multiple attempts at seeking bail have been repeatedly turned down, both at the Magistrates’ and High Court level, as he was deemed a flight risk.
Nirav Modi is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.
He also faces two additional charges of "causing the disappearance of evidence" and intimidating witnesses or “criminal intimidation to cause death”, which were added on to the CBI case.
(With PTI inputs)