"Following up with a view to having Nirav Modi extradited to India at the earliest", Government of India issues statement on Fugitive diamantaire's arrest

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in India over the Rs 13,700-crore PNB fraud, has been arrested in London after a warrant was issued against him on March 18. He was produced at the Westminster magistrates’ court at 3:30 pm on Wednesday. Moreover, the UK court where he appeared following his arrest by London authorities has rejected the fugitive diamantaire's bail application. As a result, Nirav Modi will remain in custody till March 29 when the next hearing will be held.

In response to media queries regarding the arrest of Nirav Modi, Government of India spokesperson said:

"We welcome the fact that Nirav Modi has been arrested by the United Kingdom authorities pursuant to the arrest warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrate Court. The Government of India continues to actively follow up this matter with the authorities concerned in the UK, with a view to having Nirav Modi extradited to India at the earliest."

Read: BIG Diplomatic Win For India: Nirav Modi Arrested In London; To Be Produced At The Westminster Court

Earlier on Monday, a London court had issued arrest warrant against Modi, the main accused in the PNB scam case, in response to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) request for his extradition in a money laundering case. 

On March 09, 2019, Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi was confronted on a busy street of London by a British reporter. According to the report, he occupies a three bedroom flat in a chic street in Central London with views spanning across the city. The Telegraph says the rent for a property like that would be approximately $17,000 a month.

A two-minute video of the street encounter posted on Twitter provided the first visuals of Nirav, 48, in the British capital since he fled India early last year. In the clip, he refuses to answer whether he had applied for political asylum in the UK. Also, the black Jacket Nirav Modi was wearing in the video is made from Ostrich hide and costs a whopping Rs.10 lakhs approximately. 

"Sorry, no comment", he said.  

Moreover, the Raigad administration completely demolished the sprawling seaside mansion of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in the district. Thirty kilos of explosives were used by the authorities. Excavators were used to open up the pillars of the bungalow, called Roopanya, to make space for fixing the detonators. A special technical team was called to fix them.

Last year, the state government had written to the ED, which had sealed the bungalow, seeking a nod to demolish the property on Kihim beach near Alibaug.

Modi's bungalow was attached by the ED following his involvement in the Punjab National Bank fraud case. It was handed over to the collector's office on January 24, after the ED seized two trucks full of valuables from the building.

JUST WATCH THIS: Nirav Modi's Beachside Mansion Gets Demolished In Seconds By 30 Kilos Of Explosives

On December 28, 2018, British authorities had informed India that bank fraud fugitive Nirav Modi is living in the UK, the government has said. Replying to a question, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh told Rajya Sabha that National Central Bureau of Manchester conveyed to Indian agencies that their investigations have led to the location of Nirav Modi in the UK.

In August earlier this year, Republic TV was the first to track down the exact addresses of the PNB-scam accused, which located to London. The Gitanjali Gems chief's hideouts in London were also mentioned in extradition notices that were served to Nirav Modi by the CBI. The fugitive fraud-accused's first hideout was located in London's fashionable and central Westminster area.

Nirav Modi is the prime accused in the Rs 13,400 crore PNB scam. He and his uncle Mehul Choksi are being investigated by the agencies for their role in the scam. The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in January this year, after which PNB officials reported it to the probe agencies. Two criminal complaints were filed by the ED in this regard after taking cognisance of CBI FIRs.