In a fresh turn of events in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, the reported culprit, Nirav Modi will soon be extradited to India. According to latest updates, the UK High Court on Wednesday, rejected Modi’s appeal against extradition to India. It even made it clear that once extradited, Nirav Modi will then face fraud and money laundering charges for this involvement in the PNB fraud.
The verdict was reportedly given by Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who also presided over this appeal hearing earlier this year. Nirav Modi, who remains behind bars in the Wandsworth prison in London, was earlier granted permission to appeal against the February ruling that ruled in favour of his extradition to India.
According to a PTI report, the ruling, handed down remotely reads, “Pulling these various strands together and weighing them in the balance so as to reach an overall evaluative judgment on the question raised by Section 91, we are 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.”
At present, Nirav Modi is reportedly subject to two proceedings in India – a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case related to PNB scam and an ED case related to the laundering of proceeds of the fraud under consideration. Before this, a special court had allowed the ED to confiscate Modi’s properties worth Rs 500 crore. The businessman was reportedly declared an FEO in December 2019 after the PNB fraud came to light.
