Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As the long arm of law catches up with him, fugitive Indian jeweler Nirav Modi has claimed that if the United Kingdom extradites him, he faces a “high risk of suicide,” the media reported on Thursday.
Nirav made this claim after he lost his bid to take to the United Kingdom Supreme Court his ‘fight’ against extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering.
“The appellant’s application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court is refused,” Lord Justice Stuart Smith said in a statement. The rejection of his request means he is now closer than ever to being extradited to India and facing trial.
Nirav Modi, 51, fled India in 2018 before details of his alleged involvement in a Rs. 11,000 crore fraud at the Punjab National Bank became public. After a series of legal reverses, he now argued there is a high risk of suicide if they extradited him.
Previously, he lost his appeal in today’s hearing at the London High Court. After last month’s verdict against him, he had the option to approach the UK Supreme Court, but only if the High Court agreed that the case has to do with general public importance.
The London High Court stated, “We are far from satisfied that Mr. Modi’s mental state and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unfair or oppressive to extradite him.”
His uncle, Mehul Choksi, who has taken up citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, is also accused of cheating PNB and is wanted by Indian agencies.