Former British Home Minister Preeti Patel has expressed her displeasure over the delay in the extradition of India’s fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi. He has launched a scathing attack on his own government and the legal process. He said that due to the delay in this matter, the relations between India and Britain have also been negatively affected. He said that due to such a long delay, trust with India has diminished.
During a conversation on ‘The Daily Telegraph’ podcast The Diamond King, Preeti Patel said that she is surprised and disappointed to see that even years after the extradition order was signed, Nirav Modi is still present in Britain.
Extradition order was signed in 2021
Preeti Patel had signed the extradition order of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi in April 2021. Earlier, the British courts had accepted that there were sufficient grounds to prosecute him in India. April said that she is very surprised and saddened by the fact that Modi is still in the UK.
Questions raised on Britain’s system
He said that the Indian government was extremely angry over the failure to extradite a businessman wanted in connection with the alleged $2 billion fraud and money laundering case in Punjab National Bank (PNB). He said that if our system had worked intelligently and taken the right steps instead of getting entangled in procedures and excuses, Modi would not have been in this country and he would have been sent to India by now. He further said that due to this delay, India has become very disappointed in working with us.
‘By now Nirav would have been in Indian jail’
Preeti Patel said that after the completion of the legal process, Nirav Modi should have started serving his sentence in India by now.
He said, ‘He should have served his sentence in an Indian prison, and all this should have been done as per the legal process, that is the purpose of UK extradition laws and treaties’. He described this long delay as a blatant abuse of the British system and an insult to British taxpayers.
India-UK relations also affected
He claimed that this matter also created diplomatic challenges during his tenure as Home Secretary between 2019 and 2022. He said that until the extradition issue was resolved, India was not ready to cooperate in taking back those whose asylum applications were rejected.
He said, ‘It was a big challenge for me to convince India to take back people whose asylum applications were rejected. And I believe that was because we had this high-profile case (of Nirav Modi) and there was also another high-profile case at that time. Until they (India) saw any action or progress in those cases, they had a means of putting pressure on us, which was very disappointing.
Nirav’s last appeal also rejected
Nirav Modi has exhausted all his legal options in the UK and it is reported that his last appeal in the European Court of Human Rights has also been rejected. After years of legal challenges, including an appeal on human rights grounds and a confidential asylum claim, his extradition to India is now considered almost certain.
Nirav is lodged in London’s Pentonville jail.
55 year old Nirav Modi is currently lodged in Pentonville jail in London. There are three criminal cases registered against him in India. These include the CBI case of alleged fraud of about $2 billion from Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Money Laundering case of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the case related to tampering of evidence and witnesses.
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