On Tuesday, a London court ordered fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi to repay $10.7 million (about Rs 100 crore) to Bank of India. The court held him responsible for the loans for which he was the guarantor. This case is related to the loan which Bank of India gave to ‘Diamond FZE’ in Dubai in July 2012. This company belonged to Nirav Modi. Let us also tell you what order has been given by the UK Court against Nirav Modi.
Nirav Modi vs Bank of India
Nirav Modi, who had given a personal guarantee for the loan in August 2013, argued in the London Circuit Commercial Court that the guarantee was not enforceable and that he had never received any valid demand from the bank. During the hearing, Nirav Modi also argued that there was no concrete adverse reason for canceling the loan.
On Tuesday, Judge Simon Tinkler said that Bank of India’s claim is valid and enforceable. The judge said that Mr Modi is responsible for the principal amount of $4.1 million (about Rs 38.9 crore) owed to the bank under a personal guarantee. To this, interest calculated on the basis decided by the bank will also be added. Mr. Modi did not offer any defense as to why the bank was not entitled to that amount.
Nirav Modi’s extradition to India
Nirav Modi, who was arrested on March 19, 2019, is currently lodged in a London jail and is fighting a legal battle to stop his extradition to India. In April, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said that India was committed to the extradition of Nirav Modi. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said, “We are in touch with the UK authorities regarding the extradition request. We understand that legal proceedings are going on in this matter. But let me tell you that the Government of India is fully committed to ensuring that the fugitives are brought back to India and they face the law of the country.
In March, the UK High Court rejected fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s plea to reopen his case against extradition on the grounds of “the quality of assurances” given by the Indian government. The application to reopen Nirav Modi’s appeal was based on a February 2025 judgment in the extradition case of defense consultant Sanjay Bhandari. In that decision, the High Court described the use of torture by Indian agencies to extract confessions as “common and widespread”. In April, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, removed his case from public scrutiny and granted him anonymity.
punjab national bank scam
The 55-year-old jeweller, who has been declared a fugitive in India, is accused of running a Rs 13,000 crore scam in Punjab National Bank along with his uncle Mehul Choksi (who is lodged in a Belgian jail). According to CBI, out of the total embezzled amount, Nirav Modi alone had embezzled Rs 6,498.20 crore. His extradition was initially ordered by the UK Home Secretary in 2021, but since then the matter has been in limbo.
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