Diamantaire Nirav Modi was arrested by the police in March 2019 two days after a London court issued an arrest warrant against him. He was the main accused in the $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. The diamond merchant applied for bail on May 31 in the UK high court, after a British court extended his remand till June 27. But his bail plea has been declined. The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is representing the Indian government in the case and the hearing took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on June 11. The verdict was declared on June 12.
As reported by TOI, the main reasons the court rejected the bail to Nirav include his interference with witnesses, which happened in Cairo, then alleged destruction of server in Dubai and also the destruction of mobile phones of the dummy directors.
Along with Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi was also accused in the case, and both left the country in January last year. Nirav Modi was taken to Wandsworth prison in south-west London after his arrest. Mehul Choksi is currently in Antigua and he has given health reasons for not coming back to India.
Nirav Modi has been denied bail earlier too. He will now have to seek permission from a lower court to re-apply for bail at the magistrate’s court.
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