The External affairs ministry on Saturday stated that the government is aware of the fact that PNB scam accused Nirav Modi is in London and that it has already placed a request with the UK government for the diamantaire’s extradition.

“All necessary steps are being taken for the extradition of Nirav Modi. We have been aware of his presence in UK. It (extradition request) is under their (UK Govt) consideration,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing.

Kumar stated that the Indian government had placed a request for Nirav Modi’s extradition with the UK authorities in August last year.

“Despite whatever we see on television, his (Nirav Modi) status remains the same,” Kumar said.

“We have made two requests to the UK government. We have not got any response from the British government,” Kumar said.

On Saturday, a British daily reported that billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi is living in a swanky 8-million pound apartment in London’s West End and is now involved in a new diamond business.

The revelation came a day after Nirav Modi’s 30,000 sq ft seaside mansion at Kihim beach in Maharashtra was demolished using explosives. Nirav Modi is wanted in the PNB fraud case. Earlier, the government had frozen his bank accounts and an Interpol red corner notice was issued for his arrest.

The report stated that when asked about whether he had sought asylum in the UK, Nirav Modi ducked the question saying, “Sorry, no comments.”

First Published: Mar 09, 2019 12:06 IST