Nirav spotted in London, UK court to hear extradition plea
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH ON SATURDAY RELEASED A VIDEO SHOWING A DIFFERENT-LOOKING NIRAV MODI ON THE STREETS OF LONDON
LONDON: The long-drawn-out extradition process of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who has been in London for nearly a year after leaving India, where he is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank to the tune of ₹13,500 crore, is set to begin in British courts after home secretary Sajid Javid certified India’s request.
Javid certified India’s request for the start of extradition proceedings on Thursday. The certification, the first stage of the extradition process , has been sent to the Westminster Magistrates Court, officials involved in the process said on Saturday. If the court is satisfied that enough information has been provided to justify it, an arrest warrant will be issued against Modi.
The court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the conduct described in the request is an extradition offence, which includes the requirement for dual criminality.
Modi will then be arrested by Scotland Yard and produced in court and bailed, triggering the extradition hearings. In the case of businessman Vijay Mallya, whose extradition case is now in the appeals court, India sent the request at end-2016 (he arrived in London on March 2, 2016); it was certified by the home secretary on February 21, 2017.
Mallya was arrested and bailed nearly two months later on April 18, 2017.
The Daily Telegraph on Saturday released a video showing a Modi on the streets of London, where he has had a diamond store since 2014, when his company – Nirav Modi Limited – was registered with the Registrar of Companies.