Nirav Modi Can't Afford His Legal Bills
March 14, 23
(IDEX Online) - Former billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi can't afford the legal bill for his failed appeal against extradition.
He appeared via videolink at a court in London last week over non-payment of $180,000 for his legal representation.
Last November, Modi, 51, (pictured) lost his last-ditch appeal against extradition to India, where he is accused of fraudulently using letters of undertaking offered by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in an alleged $1.85bn fraud.
He has been in a British prison since March 2019, and argued, unsuccessfully, that he was a suicide risk if he was sent back.
Modi appeared in court last Thursday after failing to pay his lawyer's fees. "All my assets have been frozen and I am unable to fund my legal fees," he told Barkingside Magistrates' Court in east London.
He said he'd borrow the money and the court agreed to payments of $12,000 a month to clear the debt.