London: In a major blow to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, one of the alleged key accused in the PNB loan fraud scam, the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London (UK) on Wednesday dismissed Modi's appeal in extradition matter.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later in the day stated that the judgement of the UK High Court is a significant achievement in the context of CBI's efforts to curb corruption and is a reminder that fugitives, who have eluded the process of law after commission of large value frauds, cannot consider themselves above the process merely because they have changed jurisdictions.
CBI's hard-work pays off finally
The CBI took painstaking efforts in effectively presenting the facts before the Court, especially since Modi had raised various issues with regard to prison conditions, availability of health facilities in India etc. Modi is accused of allegedly defrauding the bank to the tune of Rs 6800 crores.
On February 25, last year, the District Judge, Westminster Magistrates’ Court had handed down his decision and found that there were no bars on the extradition of Modi and the Court had sent the case to the Secretary of State, U.K. On April 15, last year, the Secretary of State ordered Modi’s extradition to India.
Modi had then filed an application before the High Court of Justice, London seeking permission to appeal on multiple grounds. On August 09, 2021, the High Court of Justice, London gave Modi the permission to appeal on the following two grounds:- i) His extradition would be incompatible with his convention rights under Article 3 of European Convention on Human Rights; and ii) It would be unjust or oppressive within the meaning of Section 91 of UK Extradition Act 2003 to extradite him by virtue of his physical & mental condition. All other grounds of appeal were rejected.
Two psychiatric experts present during final hearing
"During the Appeal hearing before the High Court of Justice, Government of India filed several assurances and written submissions, besides the oral arguments made by the Senior Counsel of Crown Prosecution Service on its behalf. The appeal was heard on 14th December, 2021, 28th June, 2022 and final hearing was held on 11th & 12th October, 2022. During the final hearing, two psychiatric experts - Professor Andrew Forrester of Cardiff University, on behalf of the Appellant and Professor Seena Fazel of University of Oxford, on behalf of the Government of India also gave evidence before the High Court. The High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, handed down its judgement today and dismissed the appeal filed by Nirav Modi," the CBI said in a statement on Wednesday.
The PNB loan fraud scam
Modi was arrested on 19th March, 2019 in the U.K. on the basis of an extradition request of Government of India to face trial in multi-crore bank fraud case in India. After his arrest, he filed several bail petitions which were strongly opposed and all the bail petitions were rejected by the courts in the U.K.
Modi is facing charges of fraud and money laundering, amounting to an estimated USD 2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case.
Shriram Shirsat, who appears for ED in several high profile cases, said that once Modi will be brought to India, he will be produced before the court for remand.
“He should be initially extradited to Delhi and produced before a court there since the process of extraditing him and issuance of Look Out Circulars were issued from Delhi,” he said.
Nirav Modi will face trial in Mumbai
Subsequently, he will be brought to Mumbai for facing trial here. However, there is no specific order on whether he will be produced before the CBI court first or the court trying cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering act.
A prosecutor with the CBI, A Limosin, said that he will have to read the UK court’s order to find out whether Modi has any remedies left (to challenge his extradition before a higher court in the UK).
“He is the main accused, ultimate beneficiary and should be brought,” said Limosin. Pointing out that three other accused in the case are in judicial custody, he added: “If he is extradited we will take him immediately in custody and have earmarked Barrack No 12 at Arthur Road Jail for him.”
Two separate cases — one filed by the CBI relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the other by ED relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.
The 51-year-old businessman is also facing two additional charges of "causing the disappearance of evidence" and intimidating witnesses or "criminal intimidation to cause death", which were added to the CBI case.
Timeline
-Jan 31, 2018 - CBI registers complaint against Nirav Modi, wife Ami Modi, younger brother Neeshal Modi, uncle Mehul Choksi and others in Punjab National Bank scam case.
-May 14, 2018 - CBI files chargesheet
-Dec 20, 2019 - Second CBI chargesheet filed against 30 accused - of which three are firms
-November 9, 2022 - UK HC directs Modi’s extradition to India
