The UK High Court on Wednesday rejected Nirav Modi's bail application, his fourth attempt as the diamond merchant fights his extradition from Britain to India in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud and money laundering case. ”The applicant has access to considerable financial resources, supported by an increased [bail bond security] offer of 2 million pounds,” the Judge noted. At the High Court bail hearing on Tuesday, Modi's legal team had repeated many of its assertions from previous three bail pleas before Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at Westminster Magistrates' Court to claim that their client was not a “substantial” flight risk, as claimed by the Indian government. ”Modi is not (Wikileaks co-founder) Julian Assange who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy, but just an ordinary Indian jeweller. Modi, who has remained behind bars in judicial custody since his arrest in March, had the automatic right to file an application in the higher court and did not require permission to appeal.

Source: The Telegraph June 12, 2019 10:18 UTC