British home secretary Suella Braverman clears Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition
On November 7, district judge Michael Snow ordered Bhandari’s extradition and sent a reference for Braverman’s approval
Two months after a Westminster court in London ordered fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition to India, British home secretary Suella Braverman has approved a reference sent to her in this matter, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Bhandari now has 14 days to appeal against the extradition in the high court against the order, they said.
“Bhandari’s extradition has been cleared by the UK Home Secretary last week. This brings us one step closer to bringing him here but he still can go to the high court,” said an officer, who did not want to be named.
On November 7, district judge Michael Snow ordered Bhandari’s extradition and sent the reference for Braverman’s approval. “As I am satisfied that extradition is compatible with the defendant’s Convention rights, I must send this case to the Secretary of State [Braverman] for a decision as to whether the defendant is to be extradited. However, I only do so on the basis of the assurances that have been provided by the Government,” Snow said in his order.
The Indian government gave assurances during the extradition hearings that Bhandari will be held in a separate cell at Tihar Jail in New Delhi with healthcare provisions while he faces trial in India.
The high court earlier in April 2020 cleared fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya’s extradition but it has been delayed due to “secret proceedings” of unknown nature.
A Westminster court ordered fugitive diamond tycoon Nirav Modi’s extradition in February 2021. The high court rejected his challenge to it and disallowed him to go to the Supreme Court.
In Bhandari’s case, the Indian government argued the businessman’s conduct amounts to “fraud by false representation” in the British jurisdiction. Bhandari’s legal team challenged the charges as a “political witch-hunt” and “baseless”.
Bhandari, 60, has been under investigation since 2019 on charges of corruption in the ₹2,985 crore deal in 2009 to procure 75 PC-7 trainer aircraft from Swiss plane maker Pilatus Aircraft.
He also faces a probe for allegedly laundering money for properties allegedly linked to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra in London.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Vadra in the matter in May 2019 and he has repeatedly denied all the allegations. He told HT in January 2020, “It is free for all in this country…truth has no place. Witch-hunt continues for almost a decade. Another decade more and we will be referring to what happened in 2010, 2011, 2012, and on and on.”
The ED claimed in its charge sheet filed against Bhandari in June 2020 that the fugitive after fleeing to the UK in 2016 met certain people in London and tried to alienate (or transfer ownership of) his foreign assets and companies by creating backdated documents in the name of a trust in the UAE.
Bhandari also faces charges related to accessing sensitive defence documents.
The then UK home secretary Priti Patel certified India’s two extradition requests against Bhandari in June 2020. Bhandari was subsequently arrested in July 2020. He was later released on bail pending extradition proceedings.