Nirav Modi Extradition: UK Court Updates

London, Feb 27 (PTI) Nirav Modi, who has been in prison in London for nearly six years after losing his extradition battle to face fraud and money laundering charges in India, remains on remand pending the outcome of a “confidential” procedure that is unlikely to conclude soon, a UK court noted on Thursday.

The 54-year-old appeared by video link from Thameside prison for a London High Court hearing seeking a stay over Bank of India pursuing repayment of a loan amounting to over USD 8 million owed by a Dubai-incorporated company connected with him.

In handing down his oral judgment in the matter, Justice David Bailey noted that the India-born Belgian businessman behind the eponymous "Nirav" brand of luxury jewels denies the criminal allegations and has not been convicted.

“He appears on remand pending the outcome of a ‘confidential' process which is likely to be ongoing late into 2026… (and) unlikely to conclude soon,” noted Justice Bailey.

This is believed to refer to an application for asylum in the UK, but there have so far only been indirect and tangential references to this in UK courts.

Nirav Modi, dressed in a grey sweatshirt and jeans, appeared relaxed as he sifted through piles of paperwork on the desk in a room from his prison.

During Thursday's hearing, the judge considered his application to stay proceedings over his personal guarantee related to Bank of India's loan to Dubai-incorporated Firestar Diamond FZE, claiming his incarceration restricted his right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Defending himself as a “Litigant in Person”, the fugitive diamantaire pointed to the lack of access to an internet-enabled computer in prison – except briefly while he pursued an Open University course behind bars.

The judge noted that Nirav Modi had “figuratively” likened this legal battle to the Bank of India being armed with “tanks and machine guns” while he was left to defend himself with "wooden sticks".

“Equality of arms does not mean equality of resources, but equality of process,” Justice Bailey reflected.

While he turned down a stay, the judge went on to adjourn the application pending Nirav's appeal for a working laptop to the prison authorities in order to prepare his defence in this as well as other legal matters – including bankruptcy proceedings in the US.

The judge also gave Bank of India's legal team – represented in court by barrister Tom Beasley and RWK Goodman's Milan Kapadia – directions for Nirav to have access to all relevant legal documents in hard copy, including an essential ‘Civil Procedural Rules' book.

“I am not satisfied that Mr Modi faces a real risk of serious injustice (at this stage),” the judge concluded.

On Nirav's second application to subject certain documents being relied upon by the bank to a forensic expert analysis, the judge agreed that this could carry on in parallel. The case will now proceed to a pre-trial hearing in September before a trial set for January 2026.

Separately, there are three sets of criminal proceedings against Nirav Modi in India – the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case of fraud on the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the alleged laundering of the proceeds of that fraud and a third set of criminal proceedings involving alleged interference with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings.

He was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019, and then UK home secretary Priti Patel ordered his extradition in April 2021.

Nirav has since exhausted his legal appeals in the case up to the Supreme Court and made several bail applications, the most recent being in May last year, which have all been turned down over his “real and substantial” flight risk.