LONDON: Fugitive diamond service provider Nirav Modi, preventing extradition to India on costs over the practically USD 2 billion Punjab Nationwide Financial institution (PNB) fraud and cash laundering case, was remanded in additional custody till July 9 by a UK court docket on Thursday.
The 49-year-old jeweller, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Jail in south-west London since his arrest in March final yr, appeared by way of videolink for the remand listening to at Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket in London.
He was remanded in additional custody till July 9 as a part of the common 28-day “call-over” listening to.
“The subsequent listening to might be an identical videolink call-over in direction of the subsequent stage of your extradition proceedings scheduled for September 7,” District Decide Samuel Goozee advised Modi, who spoke solely to verify his title and nationality.
Final month, Decide Goozee presided over the primary a part of the extradition trial, held in a partial distant setting as a result of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, with the second half scheduled for a five-day listening to from September 7.
“I hope Mr Modi by the point we get to September, the present restrictions on motion from prisons have been eased and you’ll be in court docket in individual to observe the proceedings,” the decide had advised Modi, on the finish of a four-day partial listening to of the case on Might 14.
Modi had been following the court docket proceedings from a room at Wandsworth Jail and may very well be seen taking notes in the course of the course of the trial.
The primary a part of the case centered on establishing a prima facie case in opposition to him however the schedule needed to be re-timetabled as the federal government of India submitted an additional set of paperwork as “corroboratory proof”. The decide allowed the extra proof to be launched however agreed that Modi’s defence crew would require sufficient time to “digest” them.
Due to this fact, a listening to already deliberate to take care of a second extradition request, made by the Indian authorities and authorized by UK House Secretary Priti Patel earlier this yr on two extra costs of “inflicting the disappearance of proof” and intimidating witnesses or “felony intimidation to trigger dying”, has been successfully prolonged to conclude the prima facie case arguments.
The decide has indicated that the 2 requests are “inextricably linked” and due to this fact he could be handing down an total judgment on the conclusion of the second listening to, scheduled between September 7 and 11.
The fees in opposition to the diamond service provider centre round his corporations Diamonds R Us, Photo voltaic Exports and Stellar Diamonds making fraudulent use of a credit score facility provided by the Punjab Nationwide Financial institution (PNB), generally known as “letters of endeavor” (LoUs).
Modi’s crew has sought to counter allegations of fraud by deposing witnesses to determine the volatility of the gems commerce and that the LoUs have been commonplace follow.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, have been laying out the case that numerous PNB employees conspired with Modi to make sure LoUs have been issued to his firms with out making certain they have been topic to the required credit score test, with out recording the issuance of the LoUs and with out charging the required fee upon the transactions. This resulted in a fraud amounting to just about USD 2 billion.
