London Court to begin hearing extradition case of fugitive Nirav Modi starting today

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.

New Delhi: Days after getting arrested for his involvement in 13,700 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, London court is set to begin hearing over extradition of fugitive Nirav Modi. The diamantaire is also set to file plea for his bail in the court. The 48-year-old has been lodged in HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since last Wednesday, when a judge had declined his request for bail on the grounds that he posed a flight risk. 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 bolster 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. Modi was arrested by the Scotland Yard officers from a bank 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 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 such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong.