UK Govt nod for Nirav Modi's extradition London

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has signed off on the order to extradite Nirav Modi, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges related to the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, senior Indian diplomatic sources in the UK said on Friday.

Modi, 50, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, has 14 days to apply for permission to appeal against the Home Secretary's order in the High Court in London. Back on February 25, the Westminster Magistrates' Court had concluded that the diamond merchant has a case to answer before the Indian courts, leaving the sign off on the order with the Cabinet minister.

He had allegedly perpetrated the fraud in the Punjab National Bank in collusion with his uncle Mehul Choksi. After a two year long legal battle, District Judge Samuel Goozee had ruled that Modi only has a case to answer in the Indian courts but that there is no evidence to suggest he would not receive a fair trial in India.