New Delhi, 16 April: Britain’s Home Minister Priti Patel has approved the extradition of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi to India.
However, fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi can appeal to the Upper Court within 14 days against the British Government’s decision to hand over to India.
A spokesman for the UK Home Ministry gave this information to the media. According to the spokesperson, Home Minister Priti Patel on Thursday approved the decision to extradite Nirav Modi to India.
The Westminster court of London ruled in February about the deportation to India. The court rejected Modi’s plea that there would be no impartial inquiry against him in India.
The Westminster court of Britain had said that Nirav would face court proceedings in India. After this, the matter was under consideration of the UK Home Minister. On Friday, Patel approved Modi’s handing over to India.
Meanwhile, Indian investigative agencies have achieved this huge success after a prolonged legal battle. Modi is accused of grabbing billions of rupees from the public sector Punjab National Bank.
Nirav Modi tried hard to resort to United Kingdomโs judicial system to avoid extradition, but failed. The economic fugitives also attempted to seek political asylum in Britain.
The Westminster court in London dismissed all Nirav Modi’s pleas against extradition. The court ordered him to be kept in Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. He was also instructed to provide necessary medical facilities in the jail.
Although, this is a major success in the campaign to bring home the economic defaulters who have escaped from India and put them in the legal dock during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi have sheltered abroad to avoid legal action in India.
Nirav Modi has been accused of carrying out fake transactions with Punjab National Bank. Nirav Modi was born in Jamnagar Gujarat and was raised in Antwerp, Germany. His family has been engaged in the diamond business for many generations.
Nirav Modi’s designer jewelery boutiques are in London, New York, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Singapore and Macau. He also has similar stores in Delhi and Mumbai.
In 1999, the diamond businessman Modi laid the foundation for Firestar. In the year 2013, he was included in the list of Indian billionaires in Forbes magazine. In this list, he was India’s 84th richest person in 2017.
In 2018, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched an investigation against him on a complaint received from Punjab National Bank. He was accused of conspiring with his associates and bank officials to get fake payment letters to foreign suppliers. In this way, they have committed a total fraud of Rs 28000 crores. The same Punjab National Bank says that the bank has lost Rs 11000 crore due to their exploits. The court had launched a probe into the fraud on the request of the bank and removed the protest.
Fearing investigation, Nirav had fled the country. It was later revealed that he was in London and the Indian investigative authorities started the extradition process against him.
