UK Court Orders Nirav Modi to be extradited to India

UK Court Orders Nirav Modi to be extradited to India

Fugitive economic offender Nirav Modi who is facing charges of fraud and money laundering, and currently lodged in a prison in the United Kingdom (UK) will be now extradited to India after the Judge at Westminster Magistrate's Court accepted that there was prima facie evidence of money laundering against him.

The UK court also accepted the Indian Government's claim that he threatened witnesses and tampered with evidence. The Court has sent his extradition order to the Secretary of State.

The Judge ruled that medical arrangements in India for Nirav Modi are acceptable and he will not be denied justice if he is extradited to India.

The legal battle had been going on in the UK Court for two years.

There are two sets of criminal proceedings against him – one with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to a large-scale fraud upon Punjab National Bank (PNB) through the fraudulent obtaining of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the second with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case regarding the laundering of the fraud's proceeds.

Moreover, there are two additional charges against him accusing him of "causing the disappearance of evidence" and intimidating witnesses or "criminal intimidation to cause death, which were added on to the CBI case.

Nirav Modi was arrested in the UK on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019. He sought bail multiple times but were repeatedly turned down, both at the Magistrates' and High Court level, as he was deemed a flight risk.

UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), that argued on behalf of the Indian government, had sought to establish a prima facie case against him and also to establish that there are no human rights issues blocking his extradition.

On the other hand, Nirav Modi's defence team, led by barrister Clare Montgomery, claimed that the issue is a commercial dispute involving "authorized though ill-advised lending" that took place in "broad daylight". According to his legal team, none of his actions met the legal threshold of perverting the course of justice or amounted to fraud. They also cited "deteriorating mental health conditions" of Nirav Modi.

The CPS has challenged the Nirav Modi's deteriorating mental health stance and had called for an independent evaluation of medical records by a consultant psychiatrist for appropriate assurances to be acquired by the authorities in terms of his care in India.

The Judge however junked his contention about poor mental health and poor medical conditions in India.