Nirav Modi’s judicial custody extended till September 19

A London Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi till September 19 in connection with Rs 13,500- crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.

The 48-year-old businessman appeared before the court via video link from Wandsworth prison in south-west London, where he is currently lodged.

Judge Tan Ikram directed the court authorities to seek confirmation of the five-day extradition hearing starting May 11, 2020.

A case management hearing may also take place in February next year.

The diamantaire and his nephew Mehul Choksi are the main accused in the PNB loan default case. The duo fled the country in January last year before the scam came to light.

Nirav Modi was arrested on March 19 by Scotland Yard in connection with the case and is in prison since then.

He has not returned to India despite repeated summonses from Indian probe agencies and courts. India is seeking his extradition to make him face the law of the land for allegedly committing the economic offences.

Nirav Modi also faces charges under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. The ED has filed a charge sheet against Choksi in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court in Mumbai.

Both fled India before details of the fraud emerged in January 2018.