Modi will be released on bail on the condition that he cannot leave the country.
It is likely that fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi will be placed under arrest by the UK authorities after Westminister Magistrates’ Court issued a warrant against him.
The court has admitted the extradition plea by the agency and issued an arrest warrant. They said:
“We have been informed by the authorities there about the issuance of a warrant against Nirav Modi.
“It officially marks the beginning of extradition proceedings against him.”
According to Enforcement Directorate (ED), Modi will be formally arrested and is likely to be released on bail, as per procedure.
The London Police will possibly arrest him during the week commencing March 18, 2019, and produce him before a London Court.
Modi will be released on bail on the condition that he cannot leave the country. Extradition proceedings would begin soon after.
News of Modi’s arrest comes soon after he was spotted living in London. He had grown his facial hair and is reported to be living in an expensive flat and running a new diamond business.
The case is set to follow a similar procedure to Kingfisher Airlines owner Vijay Mallya, whose extradition was approved by the court and is now pending with the Home Office.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson spoke about Modi’s potential arrest:
“We do not discuss extradition requests until and if a person has been arrested/presented before the court.”
UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid certified India’s extradition request for Modi, which triggered the legal process.
Modi is believed to have arrived in London in 2018. He was able to travel in and out of Britain at least four times since his passport was cancelled by the Indian authorities in February 2018.
When he was spotted in London, the media reported:
“Modi appears to have adopted a surprisingly nonchalant attitude to his fugitive status, walking his small dog each day between his apartment and the diamond company’s office in a townhouse in Soho, just a few hundred yards from his Centre Point home.”
Modi is accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank for Rs. 280 crore (£31 million).
They fraudulently obtained Letters of Undertaking for making payments overseas. This resulted in a huge financial loss for the bank.
As a result of the scam, the overall loss was in the region of Rs. 13,000 Crore (£1.5 million), making it the biggest banking fraud in India’s history.
The charges against him include criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker merchant or agent, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and money laundering.
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