UK court seeks Delhi HC’s assistance in case against fugitive Nirav Modi

In another setback to fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, a court in UK has sought assistance from Delhi High Court, probing Modi and his companies, as per reports.

The reported assistance will include recording witness statements related to allegations against Modi that involve unpaid loans and fraudulent undertakings.

The UK High Court in May 2025 refused the fourth bail application of Modi of $1 billion fraud against Punjab National Bank, due to the scale of the offence, the Enforcement Directorate had said. 

The setback to the fugitive diamantaire was delivered after thorough deliberation of arguments of defence with counter arguments of prosecution (the Indian government), and written submissions made by the ED, highlighting the money laundering aspects by using shell companies to launder the proceeds to even outside jurisdictions, including the UK.

The ED said the HC favoured rejecting his fourth bail application, filed on the grounds of poor health, in view of the sheer quantum of fraud, part of the proceeds of which have already been attached/seized by ED and restituted to the victim banks.

Nirav Modi was arrested by Scotland Yard on March 19, 2019, on the basis of an arrest request made to the UK government based on non-bailable warrants issued by an Indian court.

He had earlier made several attempts to obtain bail - on six occasions from the Westminster Magistrate Court and three times from UK High Court. However, bail was denied on each such occasion from the respective UK courts.

Nirav Modi filed his fourth bail application before the UK High Court King’s Bench Division on March 21, 2025, challenging the order of the UK District Judge dated May 7, 2024.

As part of the proceedings in the filed application, the bail application was comprehensively heard, wherein the Indian government opposed the granting of bail to Nirav Modi, leading to favourable outcome for it.

The money laundering case against Nirav Modi and his associates was recorded by the ED in Mumbai on February 14, 2018, based on an FIR registered by the CBI in Mumbai, for fraud of ₹6,498.20 crore ($1.015 billion).

As part of the investigation under the PMLA, the ED has been able to trace assets/properties worth ₹2,626.62 crore in India and abroad and, thus, attached these identified assets.

(with inputs from syndicated feed)