London Court issues arrest warrent against Nirav Modi: ED sources

Mar 18 (AZINS) Fugitive billionaire Nirav Modi could be arrested soon. According to ANI, Westminster Court has issued a provisional arrest warrant against Nirav Modi.

A provisional arrest warrant is a part of the procedure that has to be followed before initiating a formal extradition process.

According to TV reports, Nirav Modi could be produced in court on March 25.

Modi will be subsequently brought before the court to secure bail and the legal proceedings for his extradition will begin thereafter, reports said.

Earlier, after Nirav Modi got caught live on camera in London, Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said that the UK government has forwarded their extradition request to the court for further proceeding.

"The UK Central Authority of Home Office has confirmed that the extradition request has been sent to the Westminster Magistrate Court for further proceedings," ED had tweeted.

The UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid certified the extradition request for the fugitive diamantaire wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

ED clarified that it had earlier sent Letter Rogatory (LR) to 18 countries. It added that acting on its July 2018 request for extradition to UK, its Home Ministry confirmed that the request was certified by the Home Secretary and sent to Westminster Magistrate Court for further proceedings.

UK based media outfit, The Telegraph, caught fugitive diamantaire walking about on a London street. Modi refused to comment to questions posed by the journalist, even as The Telegraph tracked him openly in a swanky 8-million pound (Rs 72.89 crore) apartment in London's West End and running a new diamond business nearby. He is said to be renting the three bedroom apartment for around 17,000 pounds (about Rs 15.48 lakh) per month, and was wearing an ostrich hide jacket when spotted, estimated to be worth Rs 9 lakh. His bank accounts have been frozen and an Interpol red notice is being issued for his arrest.

Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi were involved in the PNB scam; while Nirav Modi fled to UK, Choksi fled to the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda and became its citizen.

Nirav Modi has been chargesheeted by both the agencies ED and CBI while the ED has also attached his assets worth Rs 1,873.08 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and has also seized assets linked to him and his family worth Rs 489.75.