NEW DELHI: Nehal Modi, the brother of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, has been arrested in the United States following an extradition request jointly made by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), officials said on Friday.
The officials said that Nihal’s arrest by the US authorities marked a significant development in India’s efforts to bring to justice individuals involved in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
A senior official of the central probe agencies said, “The United States Department of Justice has informed the Indian authorities that Nehal Modi, brother of fugitive economic offender Nirav Modi, was arrested by a US law enforcement agency on July 4, 2025.”
He said, “The arrest has been made pursuant to an extradition request jointly submitted by the ED and the CBI.”
According to officials, the US prosecution agency has filed complaint and based on it extradition proceedings are being pursued on two counts: one of money laundering under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and one count of criminal conspiracy under Sections 120-B and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
The ED is probing the case with regard to the first count and the CBI on the later.
Nehal is wanted in India by the probe agencies in connection with the PNB fraud case, one of the largest banking scams in the country’s history.
The two agencies in their investigation found that Nehal played a key role in laundering proceeds of crime on behalf of Nirav, who is also facing extradition from the UK.
The agencies have alleged that Nehal has assisted Nirav in concealing and transferring large sums of illicit funds through a web of shell companies and overseas transactions, in violation of Indian laws.
The ED and CBI would now make a case for his extradition plea in US courts, but his Belgian citizenship may possibly play a factor in the whole process, sources said.
According to the officials, the next date of hearing in the extradition proceedings is fixed for July 17, 2025, when a status conference will be held. A status conference is a meeting held in a courtroom, often before a trial, where a judge, attorneys, and sometimes the parties involved, discuss the progress of a case, where it is assessed where the case stands and set timelines for future actions.
The officials further said that Nehal may apply for bail during this hearing, which the US prosecution has informed the Indian agencies that it would oppose.