The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team is currently in London to complete the final extradition formalities of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, according to a report in NDTV. The CBI delegation, comprising senior officials and legal experts, has held meetings with British authorities and the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to finalise remaining procedural requirements following the rejection of Modi's latest legal pleas by UK courts.
The team is expected to return to India on Thursday with officials indicating that the extradition process has moved from the litigation stage to execution. The CBI team will travel to Strasbourg, France, within the next two weeks to represent India before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the NDTV report stated. Modi has approached the ECHR in what officials describe as a final attempt to stall his extradition, after UK courts rejected his challenges. The ECHR has reportedly granted confidentiality to the proceedings, and the Indian side is preparing detailed submissions to counter his claims.
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Nirav Modi Case To Be 'Confidential'
Modi has been granted anonymity by the ECHR in Strasbourg. The court will treat his case as confidential, and proceedings will be conducted away from the public glare.
"In cases where an applicant has been granted anonymity and the case file is confidential, the court cannot provide any information about that case," the ECHR Press office told PTI.
In around a fortnight, the ECHR is likely to conduct a hearing on Nirav Modi's plea. The court will also hear the Central Bureau of Investigation, following which it might give a verdict, sources said.
If Modi's plea is rejected, it will eliminate the final legal hurdle for his extradition to India from the UK, where he is lodged in a London prison. In March, the UK's High Court of Justice rejected Modi's petition to reopen his case against extradition, relying on the "quality of assurances" given by the Indian government, which it said were "comprehensive" enough to neutralise the risk of torture that might have barred his transfer to India.
The rejection had closed all legal avenues available to Modi in the UK, following which he approached the ECHR. The UK is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The 55-year-old jeweller, who shot to prominence for his Bollywood clientele, international boutique stores, and Cannes appearances, has been lodged at Wandsworth prison since his arrest in the UK on March 19, 2019. Declared a fugitive in India, Modi is accused of orchestrating Rs 13,000-crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank in collusion with his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is lodged in a Belgian prison. According to the CBI, Modi alone had siphoned off Rs 6,498.20 crore of the total misappropriated amount.
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