Finally, the day came when Nirav Modi, our absconded tycoon got arrested. He was arrested because on India’s extradition request in London. He was arrested in central London on Tuesday evening and was produced in the Westminster magistrates court, where the court refused him bail for which he offered 500,000 pounds.
Nirav Modi, 48, is the subject of an extradition request by India, where he is accused of major financial irregularities running into thousands of crores linked to the Punjab National Bank. News agency PTI reported that Nirav Modi contested his extradition to India.
“Nirav Deepak Modi, 48 (Date of Birth 24.02.71), was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities on Tuesday in Holborn. He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Produced within hours at the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court, he had offered half-a-million pounds as bail bond, but the court turned it down. He will be in jail till March 29, when the next hearing will take place.
A week ago, the UK issued a warrant against him following India’s request for his extradition. But a decision on the extradition cannot be taken without a long-drawn legal process, as is happening in the case of fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who fled to the UK in 2017 as banks tried to recover loans to the tune of Rs. 9000 crore from him.
Nirav Modi continues to figure in Interpol’s wanted list on its website. The charges against him, as provided to the international police organization by India includes criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker merchant or agent, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and money laundering.
His Nirav Modi’s arrest by the Scotland Yard triggered the first stage of the legal process for extradition.
Nirav Modi, whose presence in the UK was confirmed by British authorities in mid-2018, recently figured in a video released by The Daily Telegraph, walking on London streets and responding to queries by its reporters with “No comment.”
He was tracked down to a three-bedroom flat occupying half of a floor in an upscale tower block of luxury apartments, where rent is estimated to be around £17,000 a month, the newspaper reported.
