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Last Updated:May 16, 2025, 20:49 IST
Nirav Modi, the man behind India's biggest banking fraud, still remains in a British jail, while the Narendra Modi government continues its extradition efforts to bring him back
Despite Nirav Modi's legal team pulling every trick in the book, citing health issues, delays in proceedings, and time already served, his arguments failed to move the British court. File image
In a stunning legal victory for the Indian authorities, the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London, has yet again slammed the door on fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, denying him bail for the fourth time on May 15. Following the relentless efforts of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Indian prosecution teams, Nirav Modi, the man behind India’s biggest banking fraud, still remains in a British jail. Meanwhile, the Narendra Modi government continues its extradition efforts to bring him back to the country.
Despite Nirav Modi’s legal team pulling every trick in the book, citing health issues, delays in proceedings, and time already served, his arguments failed to move the British court.
A strong dossier with a bunch of evidence and papers, along with written submissions by the Enforcement Directorate detailing how Nirav Modi laundered massive sums through a global web of shell companies and diverted illicit money to jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, made his efforts for judicial redressal fall flat, said a senior ED officer.
According to a statement by the directorate, the court took serious note of the scale and sophistication of the fraud, much of which has already been traced, attached, and restituted to victim banks by the directorate. The ED further added in its statement that assets worth Rs 2,626.62 crore have been frozen so far, with Rs 1,052.42 crore already returned to the Punjab Bank-led consortium.
The fugitive businessman was arrested in London in March 2019 based on India’s extradition request and has already made six failed bail attempts at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court and now four times at the UK High Court.
However, this time, it was a near-knockout for the fugitive diamantaire. The court firmly sided with the Indian authorities, represented by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) counsel team, the ED, and agency officials, and dismissed his pleas while upholding the strong money laundering case built under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA).
Location : First Published:News india ED’s Knockout Blow: How India Nixed Nirav Modi’s Fourth Bail Attempt In UK High Court
