Fugitive Modi Awaits Verdict in Extradition Appeal
October 18, 22
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond billionaire Nirav Modi is awaiting the outcome of his last-ditch appeal against extradition back to India.
The High Court in London says it will hand down its verdict as soon as possible after a two-day hearing.
Modi, 51, (pictured) is accused of fraudulently using letters of undertaking offered by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in an alleged $1.85bn fraud.
He was arrested in London in March 2019 as India's most wanted man and has been in prison ever since.
His legal team has argued he is suffering severe depression and is a suicide risk.
In April 2021 the British Home Secretary ordered that he should be sent back to India to stand trial, but a High Court judge granted Modi the right to appeal his extradition. He is now awaiting the verdict of that appeal.