PNB Fraud Case: Nirav Modi’s Remand Extended Till September 19

Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India in connection with the nearly $2 billion Punjab National Bank fraud and money laundering case, appeared before a U.K. court on Thursday via videolink from his London prison and was further remanded in judicial custody till Sept.19.

The routine “call-over” hearing in the 48-year-old's extradition case at Westminster Magistrates' Court was presided over by Judge Tan Ikram, who told Modi that his trial dates would be confirmed at the next call-over hearing on Sept. 19, when he will again appear via videolink.

“No progress today, I'm afraid,” Judge Ikram said, as he gave directions for the court clerk to seek a confirmation of the proposed five-day extradition trial dates starting May 11, 2020.

There is also likely to be a case management hearing in the case ahead of the trial in February next year. Modi, who was dressed in a track suit, appeared in a sombre mood during the very brief hearing.

Nirav Modi, 48, has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in Southwest London since his arrest in March 2019 on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard.

U.K. Westminster Court’s Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot had presided over his last remand hearing via videolink. She had then indicated that the dates for an estimated five-day extradition trial would be mutually agreed by both sides soon.

According to the timelines discussed during that brief hearing, Arbuthnot said she expected to receive all the evidence and skeleton argument bundles in the case by April 8, with a five-day hearing then expected to be slotted for May next year.

Under the U.K. law, Modi is expected to be produced before the court within a 28-day period. Modi has previously had his bail rejected multiple times, the fourth and final time being by the U.K. High Court last month. In her judgment handed down at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Justice Ingrid Simler had concluded there were substantial grounds to believe that Nirav Modi would fail to surrender as he does possess the means to abscond.

Reiterating concerns similar to those raised by the Westminster Magistrates' Court during earlier bail hearings, Judge Simler said she found strong evidence to suggest there had been interference with witnesses and destruction of evidence in the case, and concluded that can still occur.

"The applicant has access to considerable financial resources, supported by an increased [bail bond security] offer of £2 million," the judge had noted.

The High Court judge stressed that while it was not for her to take a "definitive view" on the evidence, she had proceeded on the basis that the Government of India has acted in good faith in what is undoubtedly a serious case and a sophisticated international conspiracy to defraud and launder money.

Nirav Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on an extradition warrant on March 19 and has been in prison since. During subsequent hearings, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told that Nirav Modi was the "principal beneficiary" of the letters of undertaking that were fraudulently issued to siphon up to $2 billion from Punjab National Bank.

Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on an extradition warrant on March 19 and has been in prison since.