A British court on Thursday denied a bail application moved by Nirav Modi, who has spent close to six years in a London jail after he lost his extradition case to stand trial for fraud and money laundering in India.
Details of the Bail Denial
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed that the new bail application made by Nirav Modi was turned down by the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London. It was his 10th bail application since he was arrested in the United Kingdom in 2019.
“The bail arguments were strongly opposed by the Crown Prosecution Service advocate who was ably assisted by a strong CBI team consisting of investigating and law officers who travelled to London for this purpose,” the CBI said, according to ANI.
Nirav Modi’s Role in PNB Scam
Nirav Modi, the main accused in Punjab National Bank’s ₹13,850 crore scam, was declared a fugitive economic offender in December 2019.
Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of cheating PNB by taking loan papers for bogus LoUs, which allowed them to raise overseas loans without adequate collateral.
Extradition and Legal Battles
He was arrested on March 19, 2019, on an extradition warrant, and subsequently UK home secretary Priti Patel directed his extradition in April 2021.
Nirav has since now exhausted all his legal appeals in the case until the Supreme Court and applied for several bails, which have all been rejected over his “real and substantial” risk of flight.
Ongoing Criminal Cases Against Nirav Modi
There are three series of criminal cases against Nirav Modi in India the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case of PNB fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case concerning the alleged laundering of the proceeds of the fraud, and a third series of criminal cases concerning alleged tampering with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings.
