Nirav Modi arrested: The Westminster Court has denied the bail plea filed by Nirav Modi today. The prime accused in the PNB banking fraud case was produced before the court after he was arrested by Scotland Yard on Tueesday. Reports suggest that he was denied bail on ground that he is a flight risk, which means that he has enough resources and motive to flee once again.
Nirav Modi, who has been on the run since February 2018, was arrested by the UK authorities on Tuesday and taken to the Westminster court today. "Nirav Deepak Modi, 48 (Date of Birth 24.02.71), was arrested on behalf of the Indian Authorities on Tuesday, 19 March, in Holborn," the Metropolitan Police said, confirming the development that Nirav Modi had been arrested.
A London court had reportedly issued an arrest warrant against Nirav Modi, who is accused in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. The order apparently came in response to a request by the Enforcement Directorate for his extradition to India. He had entered the United Kingdom on a 'golden visa' issued on his now-revoked Indian passport. It is a tier-1 investor visa issued to individuals from countries outside the European Union and Switzerland.
Catch all the latest updates on Nirav Modi's arrest and his appearance before the London court on BusinessToday.In.
6.42pm: Congress continues to criticise the Modi government for allowing Nirav Modi to flee India. In a tweet, Congress party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tried too draw connections between PM Modi and Narendra Modi.
6.38pm: It remains to be seen whether Indian authorities will be granted access to Nirav Modi.
6.33pm: Representatives of Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directoreate will reportedly arrive in London to attend the March 29 hearing.
6.31pm: The UK Court has denied bail to Nirav Modi reportedly on ground that he is a flight risk, which means that he has enough resources and motive to flee.
6.28pm: Nirav Modi will be held in police custody till March 29, till the Westminster Court hears his case next.
6.23pm: Nirav Modi will remain in custody till March 29, the next date for the hearing.
6.17pm: Westminster Court denies Nirav Modi's bail plea.
6.15pm: Nirav Modi has told the court that he has made himself visible
6.13pm: The hearing on bail plea by Nirav Modi is on. The judge is going through the documents.
6.10pm: Nirav Modi claims that the case against him is politically motivated. Modi said that he is cooperating in the probe against him.
6.00pm: Nirav Modi has been produced in the court and the extradition process to bring him back has been intiated. Reports suggest that the court will hear the matter on March 29.
5.43pm: Nirav Modi to be produced before Westminster Court shortly.
5.30pm: "Is this an achievement? Who allowed him to flee," Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi said on the arrest of Nirav Modi in London.
4.58pm: Nirav Modi's extradition process is expected to follow the same path as that of Vijay Mallya, who is also living in London after fleeing India. The fugitive liquor baron is out on bail and is facing etradition proceedings.
4.48pm: Nirav Modi to appear before the court any minute now. Notably, he has been arrested on a bailable warrant, and is likely appeal for bail during the hearing. The Westminster court might set the date for his extradition hearing today.
4.34pm: Nirav Modi to be produced before the Westmister Court at 11:20 am local time (04:50 pm IST).
4.20pm: Nirav Modi is believed to have fled India in January 2018, just weeks before the multi-crore PNB fraud case came to light. (On January 29, 2018, the CBI received a Rs 280-crore cheating complaint against Modi, wife Ami, brother Nishal and Choksi. Two days later, the CBI booked them. By then, all had left the country. While Modi and Nishal left India on January 1, Choksi did so on January 4 and Ami on January 6.
4.14pm: NC leader and former J&K CM Omar Abdullah on Nirav Modi's arrest: It's amusing to see the BJP falling over itself to credit the PM with the Nirav Modi arrest while completely ignoring the fact that it was The Telegraph of London & it's correspondent who found Nirav Modi, not the PM & his agencies.
4.13pm: Nirav Modi is in the holding cell of the Westminster court. He will be produced before the court soon.
4.02pm: The fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will be produced before the Westminster court in London on Wednesday.
4.01pm: "You can run, but cannot hide from the country's #Chowkidar. As wheels of justice grind, after Vijay Mallya, fugitive Nirav Modi has been arrested in London," says Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs.
4.00pm: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Nirav Modi's arrest: "They (BJP) had only helped him flee the country, now they are bringing him back. They are bringing him back for the elections, they will send him back after elections."
3.54pm: A total of 11 expensive cars belonging to Nirav Modi to be auctioned.
3.47pm: The Enforcement Directorate gets permissionfrom the PMLA court in Mumbai to sell 173 paintings of Nirav Modi. A total of 11cars will also be auctioned. A non-bailable warrant has also been issued by thePMLA court against Ami Modi, wife of Nirav Modi.
3.38pm: Nirav Modi was arrested from London's Holborn metro station, claims ANI.
3.37pm: The location of the arrest indicates that Nirav Modi, wanted in India, was arrested from where he is believed to have been living in a plush apartment in Centre Point in the West End, reported PTI.
3.31pm: Nirav Modi reportedly lives in a property worth over 8 million pounds (over Rs 72 crore) near Oxford Street in London's West End, at a time when the Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) for his arrest after India's request.
3.27pm: The revelation regarding Nirav Modi's whereabouts was first made by London-based the UK Daily Telegraph, which published a report along with a video interview with the former Firestar Diamond boss.
3.23pm: In a surprise to investigating agencies like the CBI and ED in India, Nirav Modi was spotted roaming in London on March 9. While there are several cases of fraud lodged against the former celebrity designer back home in India, he did not seem even a little perturbed when a UK-based newspaper journalist confronted him and tried to ask some relevant questions.
ALSO READ: PNB fraud case: Nirav Modi secured fake LoUs to divert funds through dummy firms, says ED
3.20pm: A request for the extradition of Nirav Modi to India was sent in July 2018, following which the UK Central Authority of Home Office had confirmed the extradition request has been sent to the Westminster Magistrate Court for further proceedings.
3.14pm: Experts suggest Nirav Modi might not be in jail for long as strict civilian laws in the UK could allow him to get bail instantly.
3.10pm: The UK Home Secretary's office had moved the extradition file of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi to the Westminster Court in London two days back on March 7, finding his case "fit for extradition".
3.09pm: The diamantaire has been chargesheeted by both ED and the CBI where ED has attached his assets worth Rs 1,873.08 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and has also seized assets linked to him and his family worth Rs 489.75 crore.
3.05pm: BJP leader Narendra Taneja says the investigation agencies will soon bring him back to India, as they are already in talks with the UK authorities over his extradition.
3.00pm: Nirav Modi was arrested in London on Wednesday. He will produced in the court soon.