Fugitive Modi is "Suicide Risk," Court Told
September 10, 20
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond billionaire Nirav Modi would be a suicide risk if he were extradited to India, his lawyer told a British court.
He would also be unlikely to get a fair trial on charges of defrauding the Punjab National Bank out of $1.85bn because his case has become so "politicized".
Modi, 49, (pictured) was India's most wanted man until he was arrested in London in March 2019, and has been on remand in the capital's Wandsworth Prison ever since.
He's currently appearing via video-link at a five-day extradition hearing at Westminster magistrates' court, in London.
Nirav's barrister Clare Montgomery told the court Nirav had become a "hate figure" and had suffered a "marked decline" in his mental health, according to a Times of India report. He also faced a "high risk of suicide".
She also said conditions at the Arthur Road Jail, in Mumbai, where he would be held, were extremely poor.
The hearing is expected to conclude tomorrow, although a ruling is not expected until early next year.