The Enforcement Directorate has moved a Mumbai Special Court seeking permission to send a request for extraditing fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case. The application may come up for hearing on June 26.
The agency has not confirmed as to which country it was going to approach for Mr. Nirav Modi’s extradition. While his current address is not clear, following reports that he was in the United Kingdom, the ED had earlier prepared documents for sending the request to the authorities there through the Ministry of External Affairs.
As he has visited the U.K. at least thrice over the past few months, the ED may seek assistance from its British counterparts in tracking him down for extradition. Earlier this month, at a meeting with Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, a delegation led by Baroness Susan Williams, MoS for Countering Extremism, had assured India of all the help in extradition cases.
In an attempt to zero in on Mr. Nirav Modi, the Central Bureau of Investigation has also written several times to the U.K., the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Beligum and Singapore seeking assistance. In response to a diffusion notice, the Interpol’s Manchester office had earlier informed the probe agencies about his movements till March 31.
As it turns out, Mr. Nirav Modi had landed at the U.K.’s Heathrow airport from the John F. Kennedy International Airport in the United States on February 10. He also travelled from Hong Kong to Heathrow on February 15 and a month later, from Heathrow to Hong Kong. On March 28, he again went from the U.S. to London and then to Paris on March 31.
After filing charge sheets against the fugitive, both agencies have requested the Interpol to issue a Red Notice, which can facilitate his detention pending extradition or deportation from any of the 190 member countries. “As the charge sheets have been filed, we can seek his extradition. Red Notice is not mandatory if his location is known,” said an official.