UK court rejects Nirav Modi's fresh bail application

Nirav Modi was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019 and his extradition was ordered in April 2021 by then UK home secretary Priti Patel.

Updated on: May 16, 2025, 05:07:42 IST

By HT News Desk

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A UK court on Thursday rejected a bail petition filed by Nirav Modi, who has been in prison in London for nearly six years after losing his extradition battle to face fraud and money laundering charges in India.

Nirav Modi is the prime accused in the ₹13,850 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank was declared a fugitive economic offender in December 2019. (File)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that the fresh bail petition filed by Nirav Modi was rejected by the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London. This was his 10th bail petition since his detention in the United Kingdom in 2019.

“The bail arguments were strongly opposed by the Crown Prosecution Service advocate who was ably assisted by a strong CBI team consisting of investigating and law officers who travelled to London for this purpose,” the CBI said, according to ANI.

Nirav Modi is the prime accused in the ₹13,850 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank was declared a fugitive economic offender in December 2019.

Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are accused of defrauding PNB by obtaining fraudulent LoUs, enabling them to secure overseas loans without proper collateral.

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He was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019, and then UK home secretary Priti Patel ordered his extradition in April 2021.

Nirav has since exhausted his legal appeals in the case up to the Supreme Court and made several bail applications, which have all been turned down over his “real and substantial” flight risk.

Also Read | India pushes UK for faster extraditions

There are three sets of criminal proceedings against Nirav Modi in India – the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case of fraud on the Punjab National Bank (PNB), 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.

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