Nirav Modi extradition plea in UK court

Close on the heels of fugitive billionaire Nirav Modi getting caught live on camera in London, an embarrassed Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Saturday that the government of United Kingdom has forwarded their extradition request to a court for further proceeding.

"The UK Central Authority of Home Office has confirmed that the extradition request has been sent to the Westminster Magistrate Court for further proceedings," ED tweeted. The UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid certified the extradition request for the fugitive diamantaire wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

ED clarified said it had earlier sent Letter Rogatory (LR) to 18 countries. It added that acting on its July 2018 request for extradition to UK, its Home Ministry confirmed that the request was certified by the Home Secretary and sent to Westminster Magistrate Court for further proceedings.

UK based media outfit, The Telegraph, caughfugitive diamantaire walking about on a London street on Friday. Modi refused to comment to questions posed by the journalist, even as The Telegraph tracked him openly in a swanky 8-million pound (Rs 72.89 crore) apartment in London's West End and running a new diamond business nearby. He is said to be renting the three bedroom apartment for around 17,000 pounds (about Rs 15.48 lakh) per month, and was wearing an ostrich hide jacket when spotted, estimated to be worth Rs 9 lakh. His bank accounts have been frozen and an Interpol red notice is being issued for his arrest.

Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi were involved in the PNB scam; while Nirav Modi fled to UK, Choksi fled to the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda and became its citizen.

—Agencies