Nirav to be extradited to India
   Date :26-Feb-2021

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NEW DELHI ;
 
IN A major setback to fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, a UK court on Thursday ordered his extradition in connection with the nearly $2 billion (Rs 13,500 crore) Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. The District Judge at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Samuel Goozee, accepted the prima facie evidence against Modi for money laundering, saying: “Many of these are a matter for trial in India.
 
I am satisfied again that there is evidence he could be convicted,” according to reports. Arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK had earlier sought to establish that a number of PNB staff conspired with Modi to ensure the LoUs. The LoUs were issued to his companies without required credit checks, sans recording the issuance of the LoUs and without charging the required commission upon the transactions. This resulted in a fraud amounting to nearly $2 billion. The observations came after Nirav Modi’s side had argued that he can’t be extradited to India due to his worsening mental health and the poor conditions in the Indian prisons. According to sources, the court ruling will now be sent to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel for a sign-off.