India has sent a formal request to the United Kingdom government to extradite fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, who is wanted in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank scam. The request has been routed through the Indian High Commission in London, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Singh, in reply to a written question, said that the Ministry of Home Affairs requested the Ministry of External Affairs to take the action, Mint reported. “The request has been sent by a special diplomatic bag to the High Commission of India, London for onward transmission to the United Kingdom authorities,” he said.
Modi will be the 29th fugitive India has asked Britain to extradite since 2002. Modi and his uncle Mehul Choski are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,000 crore by getting fraudulent letters of understanding issued by some bank officials to Modi’s companies.
Choksi secured citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017. Last week, Antigua Foreign Minister Chet Greene said his government would have denied citizenship to fugitive Choksi if it had known about the charges against him. Greene also promised that Antigua would extend its cooperation to an extradition request in view of its friendly relationship with India.
On July 26, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday summoned Modi and Choksi to appear before it in two months, acting on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate.
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