Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi loses bid to appeal against extradition in UK Supreme Court

Fugitive diamond merchant and Indian businessman Nirav Modi on Thursday (December 15) lost his bid to take to the UK Supreme Court his fight against extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering.

The 51-year-old diamond magnate from Gujarat, fled India in 2018 before details of his alleged involvement in Rs 11,000-crore fraud at the Punjab National Bank became public. Nirav Modi argued there is a high risk of suicide if he is extradited.

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The rejection of Nirav Modi's request can be seen as he is now closer than ever to being sent to India to face trial. 

Having last month lost his appeal in the London High Court, he does have at least one more option: approaching the European Court of Human Rights.

Presently, Nirav Modi is in a London jail since his arrest in March 2019. His uncle, Mehul Choksi, who has taken up citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, is also accused of cheating PNB and wanted by Indian agencies.

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"We are far from satisfied that Mr Modi's mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him," the High Court had said.

In India, Nirav Modi is wanted by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In November, Nirav Modi had lost an appeal on mental health grounds when the same two-judge High Court bench ruled that his risk of suicide is not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to India to face charges in the estimated USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case.

• Diamond
• Nirav Modi
• Diamond merchant
• United Kingdom
• Supreme Court
• PNB
• Money laundering case
• CBI
• Mehul Choksi