UK judge orders Nirav Modi to be extradited to India

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 2/26/2021 1:29:34 PM


London, Feb 25 In a comprehensive extradition win for the Indian authorities, a UK judge has ruled on Thursday that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi not only has a case to answer in the Indian courts but that there is no evidence to suggest he would not receive a fair trial in India. Nirav Modi, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, lost his legal battle against extradition on all grounds as District Judge Samuel Goozee also concluded that there are no human rights concerns that his medical needs would not be addressed as per several Indian government assurances. The 49-year-old appeared via video link at Westminster Magistrates’ Court from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, dressed in a formal suit and sporting a thick beard, and showed no emotion as excerpts of the judgment were read out in court. “I am satisfied that there is evidence upon which Nirav Deepak Modi could be convicted in relation [to] the conspiracy to defraud the PNB. A prima facie case is established,” the judge noted. “I do not accept the submissions that NDM was involved in legitimate business and using the LoUs in a permissible fashion…I find there is no evidence of genuine import transactions and the applications for the LoUs was being done dishonestly,” the ruling notes. “Considering the entirety of the evidence, the dummy directors’ evidence in their statements supports the ponzi-like scheme and the operation of the fraud set out in the statements from the PNB officials,” it adds. The judge highlighted how he had received 16 volumes of evidence from the government of India (GOI), as many as 16 bundles of expert reports and defence evidence and a total of 32 lever-arch folders of documents, all of which he has considered in his ruling. He was, however, extremely critical of the “poorly presented” documentation by the Indian authorities and stressed: “I hope the GOI take these observations on board in relation to future requests.” The judge also noted that given the high public and media interest in the case, he did not believe there was any reason for him to doubt the Indian government’s assurances. “I am also required to consider the length and strength of relations between India and this country…There is no reliable evidence of the GOI breaching their solemn diplomatic assurance,” the judge concluded.

 

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