Nirav Modi claims 'sensational developments' to come in UK extradition case

London: Nirav Modi, in prison for over six years, has told a UK court there are “sensational developments” to come when his Indian extradition case on fraud and money laundering charges reopens for a hearing in London next month.

The 54-year-old fugitive diamantaire appeared in the dock before High Court Judge Simon Tinkler at the Royal Courts of Justice here on Friday to present his defence in an unrelated case, involving an over $8 million unpaid Bank of India debt.

The judge turned down Nirav’s application for a stay on the proceedings on the grounds of technical and medical constraints in prison, which is set to proceed to a trial scheduled in January 2026.

“They (Bank of India) refer to my extradition… I’m still here. There will be some sensational developments, and I have never used these words before,” said Nirav, during a pre-trial review hearing.

The fugitive diamond merchant, wanted in India in the estimated $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case, told the court he was “extremely hopeful” of either being discharged or granted bail after the court agreed to accept new evidence despite a “high bar” in such matters.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed that Nirav “has lodged an application to reopen his (extradition) appeal”, with the Indian authorities submitting their response ahead of a hearing expected towards the end of November.

Defending himself as a “Litigant in Person”, Nirav read from copious handwritten notes as he addressed the judge. Officers sat guard as their prisoner, dressed in a worn-out white t-shirt and pink track pants, spoke in mumbled tones about struggles with his eyesight and lengthy delays over access to a computer behind bars, which he stressed made any trial unfair and imbalanced.

“I understand this is an adversarial process and they (Bank of India) can say anything against me. But they keep on making assumptions; I would say, spend one day in prison… there needs to be some basic common sense,” he said, appearing to lose his calm at one stage.

Bank of India, represented by barrister Tom Beasley and RWK Goodman's Milan Kapadia, are pursuing Nirav's personal guarantee related to a loan to Dubai-incorporated Firestar Diamond FZE. They argued that a stay on the proceedings would be unfair to the bank as it would push the long-pending claim off indefinitely.

“If he is extradited, he will likely remain in custody… He will also be in a different time zone,” Beasley told the court, adding that the bank “remains sceptical” about Nirav’s “claimed lack of funds”.

Justice Tinkler ruled that on balance the need to preserve the court’s timetable outweighs other considerations and that all efforts to ensure an “equality of arms” in the case have been made.

“It is clear that some (medical) issues do affect his ability to work and will, in all likelihood, affect his ability to participate in the trial without reasonable adjustments being made,” the judge said, referencing a confidential medical report submitted to him.

However, with the trial listed for seven days in January, the judge concluded that it was sufficient time to make adjustments to meet all medical needs.

He also noted that the prison authorities have indicated that a computer will be made available to Nirav in a week’s time, even as hard copies of all documents will be sent over to him ahead of another pre-trial hearing in early December.

Nirav's in-person court appearance after recent video-links followed a “production order” by the court. It triggered some legal complexity of its own towards the end of the day-long hearing, as Nirav had to be sent to HMP Pentonville prison in north London.

The businessman appeared apprehensive about this shift from HMP Thameside in south London, where he has been lodged over the past few months, and appealed for the court to include a single occupancy cell request in the court order.

The judge said while that was not within the court's purview, he had added directions for either all his paperwork to be moved over to him or for him to be returned to Thameside at the earliest.

Nirav has been behind bars in London since his arrest in March 2019 and has made several bail attempts, which have all been rejected on the grounds of him posing a flight risk – most recently in May this year.

There are three sets of criminal proceedings against him in India – the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case of PNB fraud, 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. 

In April 2021, then UK home secretary Priti Patel had ordered his extradition to face these charges in the Indian courts after a prima facie case was established against him. He had since exhausted his legal avenues to contest the order, until recently when his application to reopen his appeal was accepted in the UK and is set to be heard next month.