London's Westminster court on Wednesday remanded <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-nirav-modi-denied-bail-to-stay-in-london-jail-204562">Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam</a>&nbsp;accused Nirav Modi, 48, in&nbsp;custody.&nbsp;It was the first time the fugitive businessman had been in court.

Nirav's whereabouts were a hot button issue in India;&nbsp;he was reportedly arrested as he was trying to open a bank account. A bank clerk recognised him from his passport and called the police. His lawyer, however, argued in court that Nirav, an economic offender, had been living openly in the UK.

The judge hearing the case agreed with the prosecution and decided not to grant bail. The scam accused was remanded in custody till March 29.

Before making his decision, the judge took a ten-minute break and then dismissed Nirav's bail plea. The judge did not consider the possibility of giving him bail.

Modi had offered half a million pounds for his bail but the judge refused to entertain his plea since he found him "too risky". Nirav Modi's counsel, George Hepburne, said that the case had&nbsp;a political motivation and that the conditions of Indian jails are not good. This was rejected by the judge.

According to procedure, a case has to be heard in India against Nirav of defrauding Punjab National Bank;&nbsp;if it&nbsp;is proved, then the judge might extradite him.

District judge Marie Mallon denied bail to Modi and remanded him to&nbsp;custody, saying there was substantial grounds to believe that he would fail to surrender if granted bail.

The judge who will hear the case is Emma Arbuthnot who is hearing Vijay Mallya's case.

Mallya, 63,&nbsp;has since filed an application seeking leave to appeal against his extradition ordered by UK home secretary Sajid Javid last month.

Nirav Modi's&nbsp;arrest came days after a London court issued an arrest warrant against him in response to a request by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) for his extradition in a money laundering case.

Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are the main accused in the PNB scam and they both left India before the details of the fraud came to light in January 2018.
<img alt="Nirav Modi to stay in jail till March 29th" data-align="center" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d16bc8d4-48df-454b-a35e-775e215c83e7" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Modi.jpg" />
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London's Westminster court on Wednesday remanded Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi, 48, in custody. It was the first time the fugitive businessman had been in court.

London's Westminster court on Wednesday remanded Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi, 48, in custody. It was the first time the fugitive businessman had been in court. Nirav's whereabouts were a hot button issue in India; he was reportedly arrested as he was trying to open a bank account. A bank clerk recognised him from his passport and called the police. His lawyer, however, argued in court that Nirav, an economic offender, had been living openly in the UK. The judge hearing the case agreed with the prosecution and decided not to grant bail. The scam accused was remanded in custody till March 29. Before making his decision, the judge took a ten-minute break and then dismissed Nirav's bail plea. The judge did not consider the possibility of giving him bail. Modi had offered half a million pounds for his bail but the judge refused to entertain his plea since he found him "too risky". Nirav Modi's counsel, George Hepburne, said that the case had a political motivation and that the conditions of Indian jails are not good. This was rejected by the judge. According to procedure, a case has to be heard in India against Nirav of defrauding Punjab National Bank; if it is proved, then the judge might extradite him. District judge Marie Mallon denied bail to Modi and remanded him to custody, saying there was substantial grounds to believe that he would fail to surrender if granted bail. The judge who will hear the case is Emma Arbuthnot who is hearing Vijay Mallya's case. Mallya, 63, has since filed an application seeking leave to appeal against his extradition ordered by UK home secretary Sajid Javid last month. Nirav Modi's arrest came days after a London court issued an arrest warrant against him in response to a request by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) for his extradition in a money laundering case. Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are the main accused in the PNB scam and they both left India before the details of the fraud came to light in January 2018.

PNB scam: How a bank clerk recognised Nirav Modi and called London Police

UK's Westminster court has rejected <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-nirav-modi-arrested-in-london-204519">Nirav Modi's bail plea</a> and he is all set to stay in a British jail till 29th March when the court again takes up the case. He will be staying in a British jail before Westminster court again takes up his case.

Nirav Modi, the man responsible for defrauding&nbsp;the leading state-run bank - the Punjab National Bank (PNB) was presented in front of the court on Wednesday at 11:30 am London time (5 pm IST) on Wednesday.

He was arrested on Tuesday in London's Holborn area and spent the night in the cell. It was a bank clerk who actually recognised him and called the police after which he was arrested.

While Jonathan Swain from CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) is representing India, Nirav Modi's counsel is George Hepburne Scott.

Nirav Modi's counsel George Hepburne said that the case has a political motivation and conditions of Indian jails are not good. This was rejected by the judge.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rt2-EupLSZ8" width="560"></iframe>

The conditions of Indian jails was also raised during Vijay Mallya's case but despite this, his extradition to India was given a node by the UK court.

India had approached Interpol regarding Nirav and in July of 2018, a red corner notice(RCN) was issued against him. An RCN&nbsp;makes it difficult to get bail.

The development comes days after he was spotted by British newspaper The Telegraph walking in London street wearing an ostrich jacket.

He fled the country in January of 2018 when PNB first reported the scam. In February, India revoked his passport and later in August of last year, New Delhi sent two&nbsp;extradition requests to UK&nbsp;- one from CBI, another from ED regarding the extradition of the absconder businessman.

Top Indian government&nbsp;sources told WION that New Delhi has already sent relevant material to the British government&nbsp;for extradition and it up to the Westminister court to decide whether our extradition demand is genuine. The source added, at a later stage on whether a CBI representative will go to London in Nirav Modi case.

The UK Central Authority of Home Office in early March this year had sent India's extradition request to Westminster Magistrate Court for the District Judge for further proceedings.

Through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking / Foreign Letters of Credit for payments of import bills Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi from February 2011 to May 2017 were able to dupe PNB of Rs 13,000 crore.&nbsp;

While Nirav Modi fled to the UK, Choksi fled to the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda and took its citizenship.
<img alt="Nirav Modi to stay in London jail till March 29th" data-align="center" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="33ae5786-ba90-400c-93d3-da3698469602" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Nirav%20Modi%20GFX.jpg" />
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UK's Westminster court has rejected Nirav Modi's bail plea and he is all set to stay in a British jail till 29th March when the court again takes up the case. He will be staying in a British jail before Westminster court again takes up his case.

UK's Westminster court has rejected Nirav Modi's bail plea and he is all set to stay in a British jail till 29th March when the court again takes up the case. He will be staying in a British jail before Westminster court again takes up his case. Nirav Modi, the man responsible for defrauding the leading state-run bank - the Punjab National Bank (PNB) was presented in front of the court on Wednesday at 11:30 am London time (5 pm IST) on Wednesday. He was arrested on Tuesday in London's Holborn area and spent the night in the cell. It was a bank clerk who actually recognised him and called the police after which he was arrested. While Jonathan Swain from CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) is representing India, Nirav Modi's counsel is George Hepburne Scott. Nirav Modi's counsel George Hepburne said that the case has a political motivation and conditions of Indian jails are not good. This was rejected by the judge. The conditions of Indian jails was also raised during Vijay Mallya's case but despite this, his extradition to India was given a node by the UK court. India had approached Interpol regarding Nirav and in July of 2018, a red corner notice(RCN) was issued against him. An RCN makes it difficult to get bail. The development comes days after he was spotted by British newspaper The Telegraph walking in London street wearing an ostrich jacket. He fled the country in January of 2018 when PNB first reported the scam. In February, India revoked his passport and later in August of last year, New Delhi sent two extradition requests to UK - one from CBI, another from ED regarding the extradition of the absconder businessman. Top Indian government sources told WION that New Delhi has already sent relevant material to the British government for extradition and it up to the Westminister court to decide whether our extradition demand is genuine. The source added, at a later stage on whether a CBI representative will go to London in Nirav Modi case. The UK Central Authority of Home Office in early March this year had sent India's extradition request to Westminster Magistrate Court for the District Judge for further proceedings. Through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking / Foreign Letters of Credit for payments of import bills Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi from February 2011 to May 2017 were able to dupe PNB of Rs 13,000 crore. While Nirav Modi fled to the UK, Choksi fled to the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda and took its citizenship.

PNB scam: Nirav Modi denied bail, to stay in London jail till March 29th

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