Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case, will appear before a UK court via videolink from his London prison on Thursday for a routine call-over remand hearing.
The 48-year-old, who is fighting extradition to India at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, is expected to be given a confirmed date for his trial, expected in May next year.
No progress today, I’m afraid, Judge Tan Ikram said at the last call-over hearing on August 22, as he gave directions for the court clerk to seek a confirmation of the proposed five-day extradition trial to start on May 11, 2020.
There is also likely to be a case management hearing in the matter ahead of the extradition trial in February next year.
Modi has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London, one of England’s most overcrowded jails, since his arrest in March on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges brought by the Indian government, being represented by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in court.
Under the UK law, Modi is expected to be produced before the court within a 28-day period during his judicial custody pending trial. Since his arrest, his legal team, led by solicitor Anand Doobay and barrister Clare Montgomery, have made four bail applications, which have been rejected each time due to Modi being deemed a flight risk.
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