"it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him."
On November 9, 2022, a London court rejected an appeal from billionaire Nirav Modi against his extradition from the United Kingdom to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering.
He was allegedly involved in the Punjab National Bank fraud that could be worth $2 billion.
Modi fled India and is believed to have arrived in London in 2018.
In 2019, he was spotted in London.
Modi had grown his facial hair and was reported to be living in an expensive flat and running a new diamond business.
He was subsequently arrested.
In 2020, Modi’s lawyers challenged a court order allowing the British government to extradite the fugitive businessman, citing his mental health and risk of suicide.
Clare Montogomery QC said: “The reality is he is presently in the grip of a powerfully disabling illness which has led to a significant deterioration in his capacity.
“Unless he receives treatment there is likely to be a deterioration that will continue to the level where he will not be fit to stand trial.
“If it becomes chronic any recovery is likely to be slow and fragile.
“Watching Mr Modi decline in a state that now threatens the very extradition the government of India seek.
“He is at the point of becoming so incapacitated he will not ever stand trial.
“There is a family history of depression. His brain just drops down. It is very very hard to fake, it is an instinctive reaction.
“An apparently charismatic and successful businessman travelling the world and having a capacity to escape, to this man. The contrast could not be more stark.
“There is no viable destination to a man in Mr Modi’s position. It is improbable he could spirit himself from north London to anywhere or any place he could be undetected.
“This is the last resort. This is not our first choice of how to secure treatment. Nor is it intended to be an easy choice for him, it makes his extradition more, not less, likely.”
But London’s High Court dismissed the appeal, stating that Modi’s risk of suicide does not rule out extradition.
Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith, one of the two judges, said that they were “far from satisfied that Mr Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him”.
The judges said: “On the basis of the assurances that the (Indian government) has given, we accept that there will be suitable medical provision and an appropriate plan in place for the management and medical care of Mr Modi, which will be provided in the knowledge that he is a suicide risk.”
Nirav Modi remains at Wandsworth Prison in London.
He can challenge the court ruling at the UK Supreme Court.
Loading ...