Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the nearly $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case, was on Thursday, 19 September, further remanded to judicial custody until 17 October.
Nirav, 48, appeared before the Westminster Magistrates' Court via videolink from his London prison for a routine "call-over" remand hearing. His trial is expected for May 11-15, 2020.
There is also likely to be a case management hearing in the matter ahead of the extradition trial in February next year.
Modi’s Bail Applications
Modi has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London, one of England's most overcrowded jails, since his arrest in March on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges brought by the Indian government, being represented by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in court.
Under the UK law, Modi is expected to be produced before the court within a 28-day period during his judicial custody pending trial. Since his arrest, his legal team, led by solicitor Anand Doobay and barrister Clare Montgomery, have made four bail applications, which have been rejected each time due to Modi being deemed a flight risk.
In her judgment handed down at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on his last bail appeal in June, Justice Ingrid Simler had concluded there were substantial grounds to believe that Modi would fail to surrender as he does possess the means to abscond.
Reiterating similar concerns as those previously raised by Westminster Magistrates' Court during earlier bail attempts, Judge Simler ruled that after considering all the material carefully, she had found strong evidence to suggest there had been interference with witnesses and destruction of evidence in the case and concluded it can still occur.
In Prison From March 2019
The applicant has access to considerable financial resources, supported by an increased [bail bond security] offer of GBP 2 million, the judge noted.
The High Court judge stressed that while it was not for her to take a "definitive view" on the evidence, she had proceeded on the basis that the government of India has acted in good faith in what is undoubtedly a serious case and a sophisticated international conspiracy to defraud, together with money laundering.
Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on an extradition warrant on 19 March and has been in prison since. During subsequent hearings, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told that Modi was the "principal beneficiary" of the fraudulent issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) as part of a conspiracy to defraud PNB and then laundering the proceeds of crime.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)