FUGITIVE businessman Nirav Modi, wanted in India to face trial in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case, has joined the chess club at his south-west London prison, a UK court was told this week.
The 55-year-old is being held at HMP Wandsworth, where he was first lodged after his arrest in March 2019. He was later moved to HMP Thameside and then HMP Pentonville in north London before being transferred back to Wandsworth.
At a hearing on Friday (31) on the proposed sale of a luxury apartment in central London linked to Modi and held in a trust, the court was told that his scheduled appearance by video link had been cancelled.
"It is his decision not to attend," Master James Brightwell, who was presiding over the case in the Chancery Division of the High Court in London, said.
A prison officer told the court that Modi knew about the hearing but had chosen to "join the chess club". His legal team said they had sought an adjournment and that his attendance was therefore not required.
The case was brought by Trident Trust Company (Singapore) Pte Limited, which is seeking permission to sell an apartment in the Marylebone area of central London.
In March 2024, India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) secured a court order that proceeds from the sale of the property at 103 Marathon House should be placed in a secure account after the trust's pressing liabilities had been cleared.
The latest hearing sought the court's approval to proceed with the sale at a lower price than previously expected because of changes in the London property market. Master Brightwell adjourned the case until September to allow all parties time to submit further evidence.
Modi, one of the defendants, has previously argued that he was the "true settler" of the trust and should be recognised as a beneficiary.
His extradition remains pending
His extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges remains pending. A last attempt to challenge extradition before the European Court of Human Rights is understood to have been unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the final episode of The Daily Telegraph podcast series The Diamond King claimed there were rumours that Modi may have filed a second application for political asylum in the UK.
The podcast, which examines how the newspaper traced Modi to a rented apartment in central London before his arrest in 2019, also cited an anonymous source who claimed he had visited Vijay Mallya, who is also wanted in India on fraud and money-laundering charges linked to unpaid loans to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
According to the source, Mallya warned Modi that he was "a fool for living so openly" in London.
The podcast also claimed Modi continued to live openly in the capital, regularly visiting a café on Oxford Street, and occasionally used the name "Mr Patel". It alleged that he hired private chefs to prepare Gujarati vegetarian food at his home and avoided employing Indian chefs because he feared being recognised.
Modi was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers on an Indian extradition warrant at a Metro Bank branch in central London on March 19, 2019, after a bank employee recognised him while he was attempting to open an account. He has remained in custody since then.
His extradition has been delayed by several High Court appeals based on human rights grounds and an unsuccessful political asylum claim. Earlier this year, the High Court in England also rejected his attempt to reopen his extradition case.
(PTI)
