look news india
London, 8 May (Hindustan Reporter). In another blow to Indian fugitive diamond businessman Nirav Modi, the British court rejected his new bail plea. Let it be known that Nirav Modi has been lodged in London jail for the last five years after fraudulently escaping from India. A British court rejected his bail plea, saying he posed a 'significant risk' of fleeing justice.
Diamond trader Nirav (52) is facing fraud and money laundering charges in India and had lost his case against extradition to India. He did not appear during the hearing on his bail plea at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, but his son and two daughters were present.
District Judge John Jani accepted his legal team's argument that the previous bail application was filed nearly three-and-a-half years ago and there has been a change in circumstances after so long to allow the trial to proceed.
“However, I am satisfied that there are sufficient grounds against bail,” Judge Jani said in his judgment after a brief hearing. There is a real and substantial risk that Nirav Modi will fail to appear in court or interfere with witnesses. He said, in this case, at any stage, a huge fraud is involved by the accused… In such a situation, bail cannot be granted and the application is rejected.
CPS barrister Nicholas Hearn told the court: “He has demonstrated his utter determination not to face charges in an Indian court and it would be no exaggeration to say that the fraud in question amounts to more than US$1 billion, of which only 40 crore US dollars have been seized. Therefore, he may still have access to important resources in different jurisdictions. A joint team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrived from India for the hearing and were present during the court proceedings.
There are three criminal cases pending against Nirav in India, including a CBI case in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, an Enforcement Directorate case related to alleged money laundering of the proceeds of that fraud and a third criminal proceeding related to alleged tampering of evidence and witnesses. She was arrested on March 19, 2019, on an extradition warrant and the then UK Home Minister Priti Patel ordered her extradition in April 2021.
