New Delhi: A UK court on Monday ruled that middleman Sanjay Bhandari, accused in arms deals, could be extradited to India to face charges related to tax evasion and money laundering, as reported by the news agency PTI. Two requests were made by the Indian authorities for the extradition of Bhandari (60). The first request was related to money laundering while the second was related to tax evasion.


District Judge Michael Snow heard the case earlier this year at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. He said in his decision that there was no stay on Bhandari's extradition and decided to refer the matter to British Home Minister Suella Braverman who is authorized to order extradition based on a court decision.


“As I am satisfied that extradition is compatible with the defendant’s Convention rights, I must send this case to the Secretary of State [Braverman] for a decision as to whether the defendant is to be extradited,” Judge Snow said in his judgment.


“However, I only do so on the basis of the Assurances that have been provided by the Government,” he said, with reference to Indian government assurances that Bhandari will be held in a separate cell at Tihar Jail in New Delhi with relevant healthcare provisions while he faces trial in India.


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The court passed the order on the basis of the assurance given by the Government of India that Bhandari would be kept in a separate cell in Tihar Jail in New Delhi along with the concerned health facilities during the course of the trial.


The Indian government's extradition request in respect of Bhandari was certified by the then UK Home Minister Priti Patel in June 2020 and in July of the same year, Bhandari was arrested on an extradition warrant.


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Bhandari, who was resident in India for tax purposes at the time in 2015, is accused of concealing overseas assets, using backdated documents, benefiting from the assets not declared to the Indian tax authorities and then falsely informing the authorities that he did not possess any overseas assets.


He denies the allegations.


The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), on behalf of the Indian authorities, argued that Bhandari's conduct amounts to "fraud by false representation" in the British jurisdiction.


(With PTI Inputs)