Nirav Modi Denied Bail By UK Court, Judge Says Substantial Grounds To Believe He Will Fail To Surrender

Fugitive diamond businessman Nirav Modi will continue to be in jail after the Westminster Magistrate Court in London rejected his plea on Friday. "I find that there are substantial grounds to fear failure to surrender," magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said in a Westminster court, adding that the fact Modi had in 2017 applied for a visa to the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu exacerbated those concerns.

A witness has alleged that Modi threatened to kill him and also offered around 2 million Indian rupees ($28,918.45) as a bribe not to testify, Toby Cadman, a lawyer representing the Indian government, told the court.

Earlier, opposing the plea, Toby Cadman, representing crown prosecution on behalf of Indian authorities,in final submission at London's Westminster Magistrates Court that Modi isn't cooperating with? the investigation and there is risk that he will fly out.?

The prosecution also claimed that?he threatened to kill an eyewitness Ashish Lad, and tried to bribe another to evade arrest.?

Modi was arrested by the authorities in London on Wednesday from a metro station Holborn, central London on the extradition request by India, where he is the main accused in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

He was arrested by the Scotland Yard on the extradition plea filed by India, where he is facing multiple cases of financial fraud. India has been pressing for his extraction from the UK, amid reports that he was trying to get a new citizenship or permanent residence in Singapore.?

Following the arrest, Modi was produced in the London court a day later, where his bail plea was rejected.

Modi has been evading the law for over a year now ever since the PNB scam surfaced.?

The jeweler who along with his family fled the country had been keeping a low profile and living in London.?

Earlier this week, as many as 57 artworks owned by the scamster were put at Saffronart Spring Live Auction in Mumbai and it fetched Rs 54.84 Crore for the Government of India.

The artworks were among the valuables recovered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from Modi.?

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Prior to that, the district authorities in Maharashtra's Alibaug had razed to ground a beach-view bungalow owned by Modi after it was found that the mansion estimated to be worth Rs 100 crore was in violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms and the state's regulations as well.