Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi will appear before the Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Friday to apply for bail after it was denied previously. A joint team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reached London for the hearing.
Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi will appear before the Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Friday to apply for bail after it was denied previously. A joint team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reached London for the hearing.
Nirav was denied bail in his first appeal after his arrest by Scotland Yard officers from a central London bank branch as he tried to open a new bank account. The 48-year-old diamond merchant has been in custody at the HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since last Wednesday.
Friday’s hearing is expected to be presided over by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, the same judge who had ordered the extradition of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya last December, PTI reported. During the first bail hearing, Nirav’s counsel had offered 500,000 pounds as security and also submitted to any stringent conditions that may be imposed upon their client.
Following his arrest, it was revealed during his first court appearance that the diamantaire accused of defrauding India’s state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) via fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) had multiple passports after his Indian passport was revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). While one passport is now in possession of the Metropolitan Police, a second expired passport is lying with the UK Home Office and a third with the UK’s Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for a driver’s licence, PTI added.
Hours after he was tracked to Centre Point tower block of luxury apartments in West End of London, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid had certified India’s extradition request for the fugitive diamantaire earlier this month, triggering the legal process kick-started with the issuance of a warrant.
Nirav was denied bail in his first appeal after his arrest by Scotland Yard officers from a central London bank branch as he tried to open a new bank account. The 48-year-old diamond merchant has been in custody at the HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since last Wednesday.
Friday’s hearing is expected to be presided over by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, the same judge who had ordered the extradition of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya last December, PTI reported. During the first bail hearing, Nirav’s counsel had offered 500,000 pounds as security and also submitted to any stringent conditions that may be imposed upon their client.
Following his arrest, it was revealed during his first court appearance that the diamantaire accused of defrauding India’s state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) via fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) had multiple passports after his Indian passport was revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). While one passport is now in possession of the Metropolitan Police, a second expired passport is lying with the UK Home Office and a third with the UK’s Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for a driver’s licence, PTI added.
Hours after he was tracked to Centre Point tower block of luxury apartments in West End of London, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid had certified India’s extradition request for the fugitive diamantaire earlier this month, triggering the legal process kick-started with the issuance of a warrant.