UK court rejects fresh bail application of Nirav Modi

Nirav Modi

A fresh bail plea of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, who is the main accused in the PNB scam case, has been rejected by The High Court of Justice in London. Nirav Modi approached the court in London on Thursday seeking his release on bail pending the decision on his extradition request, officials said to news agency PTI.

"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 statemen.

"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.

India has been working for extradition of Nirav Modi, who was arrested in March 2019 by British authorities in London. An arrest warrant against him was issued following a request by the Enforcement Directorate for his extradition in the money laundering case.

Nirav 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.

Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are the main accused in the PNB scam. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had in 2018 registered a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

During the investigation, several searches were conducted which led to the seizure of diamonds, gold, pearls and precious and semiprecious stones.

In December 2022, Nirav Modi lost his plea to move the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering. Nirav Modi fled India in 2018 before details of his "involvement in large-scale fraud" at the Punjab National Bank became public.

*With Agency Inputs