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The CBI said it successfully opposed Modi’s latest plea in a UK court, adding that this marked his 10th failed attempt to secure bail since his arrest in March 2019.
Fugitive Nirav Modi, founder and creative director of a luxury diamond jewellery brand, is expected to be extradited to India soon. (IMAGE: PTI FILE)
The main accused in the $1 billion Punjab National Bank fraud case Nirav Modi was denied bail by the UK High Court last week. The court rejected his latest application during a hearing on Thursday (May 15). This is the tenth time Nirav Modi has failed to secure a bail since his 2019 detention.
“The UK High Court has once again refused to grant bail to Nirav Modi, the mastermind of the USD 1 billion fraud against PNB, while hearing his fourth bail application on Thursday, 15/05/2025,” the Enforcement Directorate said in a social media post on social media site X.
“After detailed deliberations on the arguments of the defence (Nirav Modi) and counter arguments of the prosecution (Government of India), written submissions by the ED (which highlighted the money laundering aspects of laundering of proceeds through shell companies to external jurisdictions including the UK) and considering the extent of fraud (part of which has already been attached/confiscated by the ED and returned to the victim banks) the UK High Court dismissed the application and refused to grant bail to Nirav Modi,” it further added.
The Central Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, rejected the fugitive diamantaire’s 10th bail plea earlier this week.
The CBI said the arguments were strongly contested by the Crown Prosecution Service, with support from CBI officials who had travelled to London. “CBI could successfully defend the arguments which resulted in rejection of the bail,” the agency noted in a statement.
Nirav Modi has been lodged in a UK prison since March 19, 2019. He is wanted in India for defrauding Punjab National Bank to the tune of ₹6,498.20 crore. Declared a fugitive economic offender, his extradition has already been cleared by the UK High Court.
This latest plea is part of a string of failed legal attempts to block his return to India, including one dismissed by the UK Supreme Court in December 2022. The ED had filed a PMLA case against him and his uncle Mehul Choksi in 2018 and seized multiple assets linked to the fraud.
- Location :
London, United Kingdom (UK)
- First Published:
