Diamond merchant Nirav Modi's extradition order was signed on Friday by UK home secretary Priti Patel, paving the way of bringing the fugitive billionaire, wanted in India in PNB scam, back to the country. The extradition was ordered by a trial court in February. People familiar with the developments said as appeal routes are open for Nirav Modi, he can challenge the order in the high court now. On February 25, a UK court had ruled in favour of extradition of Modi. Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail has kept a special cell ready to lodge him. The jail official said that once Nirav Modi is brought to Mumbai, he will be kept in one of the three cells of barrack number 12, which is a high security barrack.
The Westminster Court ruled that 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. Modi lost his nearly two-year-long legal battle against extradition on all grounds. Modi is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings, with the CBI case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of LoUs or loan agreements, and the ED case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud. He also faces two additional charges of “causing the disappearance of evidence” and intimidating witnesses or criminal intimidation to cause death added to the CBI case. The jeweller has been in prison since he was arrested on March 19, 2019, on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard and his attempts at seeking bail have been repeatedly turned down.