UK Court Refuses Nirav Modi Bail for 10th Time, Says He May 'Abscond'

A London court has once again refused to grant bail to Nirav Modi, the main accused in the ₹13,800 crore Punjab National Bank scam. This was his 10th bail application since his arrest in the UK in 2019.

Justice Michael Fordham of the Royal Courts of Justice in London said that Nirav Modi might escape if released on bail. The judge added that UK courts had already found enough evidence to support India’s case against him. He repeated that there is a strong case against Modi and his release could lead to him escaping.

"And I repeat, after careful evaluation, UK courts have twice concluded that there is a prima facie case supported by evidence against the applicant," Justice Fordham said while rejecting Nirav Modi's bail plea on May 15.

The court said Modi is wanted in India for very serious crimes. He is accused of leading a huge banking fraud where he used fake documents to get money from foreign banks through Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The court has also said that over 1,015 million US dollars were wrongly taken through this fraud. It added that there was no denial of the money transfers, only a claim that the transfers had a proper reason.

Destroyed Evidence and Tried to Influence Witnesses

The court also said that Modi destroyed a mobile phone and a computer server in Dubai in 2018, which had important proof against him. It added that he also tried to influence witnesses.

"Part of the allegation is that he was criminally responsible for interfering with witnesses and destroying evidence," the court noted.

The judge further noted, "Evidence on a computer server in Dubai was also said to have been destroyed in February 2018. All of that is alleged to have happened while the applicant was in the UK."

These actions, the court said, happened while Nirav Modi was already in the UK.

CBI Fought the Case in London

Earlier this week, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that they worked closely with UK lawyers to fight against Modi’s bail. CBI officers even travelled to London to support the legal team. They said the Crown Prosecution Service presented India’s side strongly, and that’s why the court rejected the bail.

He’s Been in UK Jail Since 2019

Nirav Modi was arrested in March 2019 in the UK. He has been in jail since then. He was declared a fugitive economic offender by an Indian court in December 2019. The UK court has already approved his extradition to India.

The CBI reminded that this was his 10th bail plea, and all of them have been denied.

Modi has tried many times to stop his extradition to India. He even went to the UK Supreme Court in December 2022, but all his appeals have failed.