‘Nirav Modi chose England jail over India return’: PMLA court

The ED’s counsel, advocate Hiten Venegaonkar along with Kavita Patil, said that this showed Modi’s intention to not return to India and face prosecution.

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the prime accused in the ₹13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, was given a choice of returning to India after being arrested in London earlier this year but he preferred to remain in jail in England, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA ) court on Friday.

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the prime accused in the ₹13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, was given a choice of returning to India after being arrested in London (Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint)

The ED’s counsel, advocate Hiten Venegaonkar along with Kavita Patil, said that this showed Modi’s intention to not return to India and face prosecution.

Modi is presently in Wandsworth prison in south-west London since his arrest in March.

Venegaonkar was arguing the ED’s plea, seeking to declare Modi and his maternal uncle, Mehul Choksi, who is also an accused in the PNB fraud case, as fugitive economic offenders, under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.

“Even after several summons and warrants, they have refused to present themselves to join the investigation,” Venegaonkar argued.

The ED had presented applications to declare Modi and Choksi as fugitive economic offenders a year ago, but final arguments on the plea commenced on Friday. The prosecution argued that both are yet to return to India even after the agency issued several summons. He said non-bailable warrants have also been issued against them.The prosecution concluded their arguments on Friday. The court has asked the defence lawyers to present their side on August 26.