United Kingdom court extends remand of Nirav Modi

London, January 2: In United Kingdom, fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi was further remanded in custody at a hearing today and asked to appear on the 30th of January in nearly two billion US Dollars Punjab National Bank fraud and money laundering case.

 

Modi appeared for his regular 28-day call-over appearance from London's Wandsworth prison at Westminster Magistrates' Court. His extradition trial is scheduled for 11th of May and is expected to last over five days. Modi had moved yet another bail application last November but the bail plea was turned down by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot.

Last month, the CBI filed a supplementary charge sheet in the USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank scam, naming Modi's brother Nehal and four others as accused. Besides Nirav Modi, the charge sheet named his brother Nehal Modi, suspended deputy general manager at PNB Sanjay Prasad, and Nirav Modi's associates Amit Magia, Sandeep Mistri and Mihir Bhansali.

"Bhansali, Mistri and Nehal Modi are out of country and summons should be issued against them", the CBI said while submitting the charge sheet in the court of Judge V C Barde. Special public prosecutor A Limosin said the agency has added fresh charges of `destruction of evidence' and threatening the witnesses in the supplementary charge sheet.