Modi Extradition: Court to Rule on "Suicide" Plea
December 19, 21
(IDEX Online) - A British court has heard Nirav Modi's appeal against extradition, and will make a decision early in the new year after hearing representations from Indian authorities.
The fugitive diamond billionaire (pictured) has been in custody in London since his arrest in March 2019 over his alleged involvement $1.85bn fraud against the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
In February of this year, a district judge ruled there was no bar to extraditing Modi, 50, despite an uncontested diagnosis of severe depression.
In April the British Home Secretary ordered he should be sent back to India to stand trial on charges of fraud and money laundering, but in August a High Court judge granted him the right to appeal his extradition.
Modi's legal team argued he was "at high risk of suicide" already, and his condition would get worse if he was returned to India.
A legal representative for India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have the court assurances that Modi would receive "adequate specialist medical care".
The date for a further hearing will be set for some time after 4 January 2022.