Nirav Modi has been lodged at Wandsworth Jail in London since his arrest in March, 2019. (File)
London:
Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who’s combating extradition to India, was additional remanded in custody till August 6 after he appeared at a daily remand listening to earlier than a UK court docket at present on fees over the practically $2 billion Punjab Nationwide Financial institution money-laundering case.
The 49-year-old jeweller, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Jail in south-west London since his arrest in March final yr, appeared by way of videolink earlier than Chief Justice of the Peace Emma Arbuthnot at Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket in London for a daily 28-day “call-over” listening to till the second leg of his extradition trial begins in September.
“Good to see you wanting nicely,” stated Decide Arbuthnot, as she knowledgeable Nirav Modi of his subsequent videolink call-over listening to on August 6.
In Might, District Decide Samuel Goozee presided over the primary a part of the extradition trial, held in a partial distant setting because of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, with the second half scheduled for a five-day listening to from September 7.
“I hope Nirav Modi by the point we get to September, the present restrictions on motion from prisons have been eased and you may be in court docket in individual to comply with the proceedings,” the decide had instructed the accused, on the finish of a four-day partial listening to of the case on Might 14.
Nirav Modi had been following the court docket proceedings from a room at Wandsworth Jail and may very well be seen taking notes through the course of the trial.
The primary a part of the case centered on establishing a prima facie case towards him however the schedule needed to be re-timetabled as the federal government of India submitted an extra set of paperwork as “corroboratory proof”.
The decide allowed the extra proof to be launched however agreed that Nirav Modi’s defence crew would require sufficient time to “digest” them.
Subsequently, a listening to already deliberate to cope with a second extradition request, made by the Indian authorities and licensed by UK Dwelling Secretary Priti Patel earlier this yr on two further fees of “inflicting the disappearance of proof” and intimidating witnesses or “legal intimidation to trigger demise”, has been successfully prolonged to conclude the prima facie case arguments.
The decide has indicated that the 2 requests are “inextricably linked” and subsequently he could be handing down an total judgment on the conclusion of the second listening to, scheduled between September 7 and 11.
The fees towards the diamond service provider centre round his companies Diamonds R Us, Photo voltaic Exports and Stellar Diamonds making fraudulent use of a credit score facility provided by the Punjab Nationwide Financial institution (PNB), often known as “letters of enterprise” (LoUs).
Nirav Modi’s crew has sought to counter the allegations of fraud by deposing witnesses to determine the volatility of the gems commerce and that the LoUs had been commonplace follow.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, have been laying out the case that numerous PNB employees conspired with Modi to make sure LoUs had been issued to his corporations with out guaranteeing they had been topic to the required credit score test, with out recording the issuance of the LoUs and with out charging the required fee upon the transactions. This resulted in a fraud amounting to almost $2 billion.
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