A UK court has ruled that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi could be extradited to India to stand trial, stating a prima facie case has been established against him and that he has a “case to answer for in India”. Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of routing transactions of about Rs 13,600 crore through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) of Punjab National Bank (PNB). Both men left India in the first week of January 2018, weeks before the scam was revealed.
In its order, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London ruled that Modi “conspired to destroy evidence and intimidate witnesses”. District Judge Samuel Goozee said that Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai is fit for Modi and that he would not be denied justice after his extradition to India.
“I am satisfied that there is evidence upon which NDM [Nirav Deepak Modi] could be convicted in relation to the conspiracy to defraud the PNB. A prima face case is established,” the judge said.“I am satisfied that there is evidence upon which NDM [Nirav Deepak Modi] could be convicted in relation to the conspiracy to defraud the PNB. A prima face case is established,” the judge said.
He further said a prima facie case to have been established on all charges brought up against Modi by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) — money laundering, intimidation of witnesses and disappearance of evidence.
On arguments made by Modi’s lawyers that he suffers from severe depression, the judge ruled that such symptoms are not unusual in a man in his circumstances. He further ruled that Modi would be given adequate medical treatment and mental health care in the jail.
The court also dismissed Modi’s claim that Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tried to influence the case against him.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian government would liaise with the UK authorities early for the extradition of Modi to India.
The court’s findings would now be sent to the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, Priti Patel, who is authorised to order extradition under the India-UK Extradition Treaty and has two months within which to make that decision.(Courtesy:I.E)
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Right actions.
U.K. is playground for some of the miscreants of financial fraud in their respective countries, be it from Russia Kazakhstan or Africa because somehow they must think the law here allows them to cause enormous problems to their mother countries. It is right that Nirav Modi is sent back to face justice