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The UK High Court today rejected fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s plea against his extradition to India.

Nirav Modi had recently filed an appeal in the UK High Court at London against the order of Westminster Magistrate court of February 25, 2021 directing his extradition to India and April 15 order of the UK home secretary Priti Patel approving the same.

The Westminster Magistrate Judge Sam Goozee had found Modi guilty of money laundering and fraud in the USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. Dismissing his plea, the Magistrate said “I do not accept that Nirav Modi was involved in a legitimate business. I find no genuine transactions and believe there is a process of dishonesty," the judge ruled”.

Modi who escaped from India on January 1, 2018 is facing criminal charges in two cases. The first is the CBI case relating to an extensive fraud upon PNB and the second is the ED case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of the PNP fraud.  Additional charges which were added to the CBI case include "causing the disappearance of evidence" and "criminal intimidation to cause death".

On July 27, 2018, India had applied for extraditing Nirav Modi from UK.  

Since his arrest on March 19, 2019 on the basis of India’s application for extradition, Nirav Modi  continues to be lodged in Wandsworth prison in London.

[source: ANI]