Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi to appear before Westminster Magistrates Court for hearing. LIVE UPDATES here

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi is set to appear before Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Friday, where his legal team will make a second bail application.

The 48-year-old diamond merchant was denied bail by District Judge Marie Mallon at his first hearing soon after his arrest by Scotland Yard officers from a central London bank branch as he tried to open a new bank account and has been in custody at the HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since last Wednesday.

Friday's hearing is expected to be presided over by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, the same judge who had ordered the extradition of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya last December.

At his first court appearance after his arrest last week, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, told the court that Modi is wanted for alleged "high value and sophisticated" fraud and money laundering amounting to USD 2 billion.

The CPS will be joined in court by a joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that has arrived from India to assist with the extradition case.

Describing him as the "opposite of a flight risk" during the first bail application hearing last week, Modi's defence team had offered 500,000 pounds as security and also submitted to any stringent conditions that may be imposed upon their client.

It remains to be seen how they would further enhance that offer in order to convince the judge to grant bail during the second hearing, following which the case will proceed to a series of case management hearings and setting of a trial date.

Nirav Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers from a Metro Bank branch in central London as he attempted to open a new bank account on March 19. During his first court appearance a day after, it emerged that the diamantaire accused of defrauding India's state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) via fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) had been in possession of multiple passports, since revoked by the Indian authorities.

While one passport is now in possession of the Metropolitan Police, a second expired passport is lying with the UK Home Office and a third with the UK's Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for a driver's licence.

Besides the passports, Modi also possesses multiple residency cards, some of them expired, but covering countries/regions such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong.

His defence team tried to establish his very "visible" and "lawful" residence at his luxury Centre Point apartment in London's West End, paying his local council tax and also using a National Insurance number, allocated to legal UK residents for purposes of work.

The CPS challenged all claims to counter the first bail plea and pointed out that Modi had "deliberately evaded justice" and not returned to India despite a series of criminal summons issued by Indian courts.

(With inputs from PTI)

CBI & ED team reaches London. Will be meeting Crown Prosecution Service before gearing begins. 

The case likely to come up around 10 am (UK Time). 

CBI Sources: fresh evidence will be submitted in the court. Crown Prosecution Service has been briefed. 

ED sources: Nirav remains a flight risk. Will be highlighting that he has traveled out of UK thrice when his passport was canceled by Indian authorities. 

CBI Sources: Nirav has made an attempt to resume business in the UK with the help of his associates based in the country. We are still investigating the source of capital used in this business.

CBI and ED team reaches court.

Nirav Modi's lawyer Anand Doobay reaches court

Case to be taken up in Court number 3. 

CBI and ED teams told Republic TV, "We are confident. We are fully prepared."

Government sources have revealed: 

India will immediately move a higher court if Nirav Modi is granted bail. India is also prepared if Nirav Modi moves a higher court in case of him being denied bail. 

ED sources told Republic, "We have submitted fresh evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service. This includes the three countries he traveled after the passport was revoked."

Not confirm whether Nirav Modi will be present in person or through the Video Conferencing

2 ED and 2 CBI officials met the Crown Prosecutor.

Fresh evidence against Nirav Modi will include the details of his shell companies. Also the business he wished to set up in India in May 2018

Nirav Modi has been brought to the Westminister Court. He has been kept inside the prison cell which is at the basement of the court and was brought to the prison van in the morning. 

Case deferred, will come up for hearing at 12:30 (UK time)

Courtroom changed to courtroom number 1

Judge hearing begins, Nirav Modi is being brought to the court. 

CPS: We have given you the papers this morning regarding his bail. A fraud of 1.2 billion dollars has been committed. He has defrauded the bank.

Judge: I have been given a file. How many bank victims? Which bank is it? 

Judge to CPS: He can influence the witnesses. We have attached the list of witnesses in this case. Details of the statements of witnesses have been given.
 

In a telephone call to Ashish Lad, an eyewitness, the economic fugitive threatened to kill him. 

CPS said, "Subash Parab is another witness. He is in Egypt. Subash has worked for Nirav. Nirav has traveled to several countries. And his particular interest to get citizenship in Pacific by investment. 

"He has shown the intent to get citizenship of the country which has no extradition treaty with India," he added.

Anand Doobay walks towards Nirav Modi and whispers something 

CPS said, "There is an overwhelming desire to escape to influence a witness and destroy evidence. To his credit, he did want to surrender. He wanted to surrender on 20th March. But it so happened that he was identified in Metro bank. And thereafter he was arrested."

"That aside he has never cooperated. There is substantial evidence to suggest that if he is granted bail, then he would make an attempt to flee."

Defense hearing begins: 

Claire Montgomery said, "He has the right to bail. He does not have a long history of crime. He has been in the United Kingdom even before the allegation was leveled against him in India. He had plans to expand his business in the UK."

Court of resume after lunch
 

Nirav Modi's case resumes

Nirav comes in, but the judge is taking up a few cases before that. 

Meanwhile, Nirav speaks to Anand Doobay from the glass box, looks visibly agitated

Nirav Modi's attorney Claire Montgomery argues, "he has been in the UK since January 2018. He hasn't travelled since then since his passport has been cancelled. I am proposing to a subject to residence with electronic monitoring."

"He is open to monitoring. Reporting to a police station is not safe. He hasn’t got permanent residency in UAE and Singapore. His son has left for US. 
He is now alone living with his dog."

On the evidence provided by agencies on Ashish Lad: 

Claire, Modi's attorney said, "He is a suspect, he claims he is threatened about an incident in Dubai about going to Cairo."

"He was misguided by Mihir Bhansali, he says he received a death threat from Nirav Modi when he was in Cairo. He says he hasn’t recorded this. He recorded the subsequent events. Sandy Mistri told him to leave Cairo," she added. 
 

Defence submission ends 

CPS: He traveled to New York in February 2018

Judge announced:

"There is a substantial loss to the bank. Interference with the witnesses have taken place and evidence has been destroyed. In my view it’s is very unusual in a fraud case. Ms. Claire is arguing a conditional bail. But, it's a very early stage of the case." 

"Fairly major inconsistencies in the witness statement. He was planning to get citizenship in Vanautu. This shows he wants to move away from India.  I don’t think conditional bail will suffice."

Nirav Modi will be produced next on 26th April through a video link at 10:30 AM