Fugitive Indian billionaire Nirav Modi, wanted by Indian authorities over an alleged $2 billion loan fraud, was arrested in London on Tuesday when a bank employee alerted the police after Modi went in to open an account.
The diamond-magnate, who had stores across Asia, the US and Britain, was remanded to custody after a British Court denied him bail on Wednesday, AAP reports.
Mr Modi is accused of massive bank fraud in India where it is alleged the companies he controlled defrauded the country’s second-largest state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) by using fake documents to get loans to buy and import jewels.
Mr Modi has denied these charges.
People walk past a Punjab National Bank branch after it was sealed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Mumbai, India. Source: AAP
On Wednesday, he appeared at London's Westminster Magistrates Court where despite offering to put up 500,000 pounds ($660,000) security, he was denied bail.
Nirav Modi's lawyer, George Hepburne Scott, said his client would deny the charges which he believes are politically motivated.
Mr Hepburne Scott said Mr Modi had arrived in Britain last year before any allegations were made in India and he had lived here lawfully and paid tax.
He was remanded in custody until his next appearance at the same court on March 29.
Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are the main accused in the PNB scam and they both left India before the details of the alleged fraud came to light in January 2018.
Modi is one of India's richest men, worth an estimated USD 1.75 billion, according to Forbes.
India welcomes the arrest of Nirav Modi: India’s Ministry of External Affairs
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India continued to actively follow up with the UK the case of Modi's extradition to India.
"We welcome the fact that Nirav Modi has been arrested by the United Kingdom authorities pursuant to the arrest warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrate Court," Kumar said.
A woman walks past the closed Nirav Modi jewelry store on Madison Avenue in New York, New York, 03 April 2018 Source: AAP
"Government of India continues to actively follow up this matter with the authorities concerned in the UK, with a view to have Nirav Modi extradited to India at the earliest," he said.
