UK court warrant against Nirav Modi

New Delhi: A London court has issued an arrest warrant against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the main accused in the $2 billion PNB scam case, making his arrest imminent, in response to a request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his extradition in a money laundering case, officials said on Monday.

The development may lead to a formal arrest of Mr Modi, 48, in the next couple of days but his return to India may not happen sometime soon due to the legal remedies he is entitled to in the UK.

According to ED sources, the Central probe agency was recently informed about the warrant issued by the Westminster magistrate court against Mr Modi and he is expected to be put under formal arrest by the London Metropolitan police soon.

Mr Modi (48) will be subsequently brought before the court where he may apply for bail, sources said, adding that the legal proceedings for his extradition will begin thereafter.

If Mr Modi secures bail, which is most likely, the case will then follow a similar pattern through the UK courts as that of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who remains on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April 2017 in '9,000 crore fraud and money laundering case. The 63-year-old businessman has since filed an application seeking leave to appeal against his extradition ordered by UK home secretary Sajid Javid last month. Mr Mallya’s case is in final stages in that country.

As far as warrant against Mr Modi is concerned, the UK court and Scotland Yard said they cannot confirm or deny the warrant until an arrest has been executed and an accused has been formally charged, officials aware of the developments confirmed that a warrant was issued last week with authorities in India being made aware on Monday.

News of the certification of India’s extradition request came just as Mr Modi was tracked down to a three-bedroom flat in the Centre Point tower block of luxury apartments in the West End of London.

He is believed to have arrived in London last year and was able to travel in and out of Britain at least four times since his passport was cancelled by the Indian authorities in February 2018.

The revelation of Mr Modi’s whereabouts in London comes a day after his 30,000 sq ft seaside mansion at Kihim beach in Maharashtra was demolished by authorities using explosives.

Mr Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are the main accused in the PNB scam and they both left India before the details of the fraud came to light in January 2018.