NEW DELHI: Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot of London’s Westminster Magistrate on Friday denied bail to Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant and prime accused in the Rs 13,500 crore PNB Bank scam, on the ground that he posed a significant flight risk.
Modi was arrested by Scotland Yard officers when he was trying to open a new bank account on March 19. Denied bail during his first court appearance a day after by District Judge Marie Mallon, he has been jailed at HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since last Wednesday.
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot had ordered the extradition of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in December last year.
Toby Cadman, appearing for the Crown Prosecution Service on behalf of India, told the court that Modi is wanted for alleged “high value and sophisticated” fraud and money laundering amounting to USD 2 billion. Not only did Modi pose a flight risk, he had even issued death threats to witnesses related to his laundering case and tried to destroy evidence related to the case," he said.