The Westminster Magistrate’s court in London on Thursday extended fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s remand till July 25, the next date of hearing, reported PTI. Modi has been in jail since March, when he was arrested in London for allegedly duping India’s Punjab National Bank of more than Rs 13,000 crore.
Modi appeared before the court via a video link from Wandsworth prison, where he has been lodged since his fourth attempt at seeking bail was rejected on June 12. The court agreed to do all it can to facilitate Modi’s access to documents related to his extradition case. His defence team has requested for a laptop so that Modi can review the Indian government’s 5,000-page case against him in prison, reported ANI.
On May 31, the court had extended his custody till June 27. The judge had denied him bail, and said there were substantial grounds to believe Modi would fail to surrender and might interfere with witnesses and obstruct justice.
Earlier on Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate seized four Swiss bank accounts belonging to Modi and his sister Purvi Modi. The four bank accounts had a total of Rs 283.16 crore. Swiss authorities froze the accounts based on a request from the Enforcement Directorate, which said the money kept in them represented “proceeds of a crime”. The Swiss authorities froze the accounts under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
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