Approval Of Extradition Of Nirav Modi To India

In News

Recently, the UK home office has cleared the extradition of Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in connection with the ?13,758 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

About

• This comes two months after the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London ruled that a prima facie case was made out against him.
  • He has the legal recourse of approaching the U.K. High Court within 14 days to seek permission for moving an appeal against the Secretary of State’s decision.
  • Unless there is an appeal, a requested person must be extradited within 28 days of the Secretary of State’s decision to order extradition.

Source:HT

What is Nirav Modi’s Case?

• Nirav Modi is a luxury diamond jeweller and designer who was ranked 57 in the Forbes list of billionaires in 2017. He is also the founder of the Nirav Modi chain of diamond jewellery retail stores.
• He is the key accused in the Punjab National Bank’s scam that relates to a fraudulent letter of undertaking worth Rs 10,000 crore issued by the bank.
• According to the complaint filed by PNB with the CBI, the fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertakings (LOU) was detected at the Mid Corporate Branch, Brady House in Mumbai.
• A set of partnership firms — Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds — approached the bank on January 16 with a set of import documents and requested for Buyer’s Credit to make payments to overseas suppliers.
  • Buyers Credit is, typically, a short-term loan facility extended to an importer by a bank to finance goods and services.
  • It is a common mode of transaction in international trade where a bank extends credit to the importer and a finance agency based in the exporter’s country guarantees the loan.
• The firms have Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal Modi, Mr. Nirav’s wife Ami Nirav Modi, and Mehul Chinubhai Chokshi as partners.

• A special court, in December 2019, declared diamond businessman Nirav Modi a fugitive economic offender, on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate.

Fugitive Economic Offender

• An FEO is defined by The Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018 as “any individual against whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a scheduled offence has been issued by any court in India, who
  • has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution; or
  • being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution”.
• The FEO Act aims “to provide for measures to deter fugitive economic offenders from evading the process of law in India by staying outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, to preserve the sanctity of the rule of law in India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.
• Procedure to be followed: The investigating agencies have to file an application in a Special Court under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act containing details of the properties to be confiscated, and any information about the person’s whereabouts.
  • The Special Court will issue a notice for the person to appear at a specified place and date at least six weeks from the issue of notice.
  • Proceedings will be terminated if the person appears. If not the person would be declared as a Fugitive Economic Offender based on the evidence filed by the investigating agencies.
  • The person who is declared as a Fugitive Economic Offender can challenge the proclamation in the High Court within 30 days of such declaration according to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.

Source: IE