'Sensational developments' to come, claims Nirav Modi in UK extradition case

Fugitive Indian diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is in prison for over six years, has told a United Kingdom court that "sensational developments” will emerge when his extradition case in fraud and money laundering charges reopens for a hearing in London next month. Modi is wanted in India for the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and alleged money laundering.

Appearing before High Court Judge Simon Tinkler at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Friday (October 17, 2025) to present his defence in a separate case, involving an over $8 million unpaid Bank of India debt, the 54-year-old made the claim.

During a pre-trial review hearing Modi said, "They (Bank of India) refer to my extradition… I’m still here. There will be some sensational developments, and I have never used these words before".

He also claimed that he was “extremely hopeful” of either being discharged or granted bail in the case after the court agreed to accept new evidence despite a “high bar” in such matters, reported news agency PTI.

A hearing in the case is expected towards the end of November after Modi lodged an application to reopen his (extradition) appeal and the Indian authorities submitting their response.

Defending himself as a “litigant in person”, and read from copious handwritten notes Modi seemed to lose cool at one point by saying “I understand this is an adversarial process, and they (Bank of India) can say anything against me. But they keep on making assumptions; I would say, spend one day in prison… There needs to be some basic common sense".

Bank of India are pursuing Modi’s personal guarantee related to a loan to Dubai-incorporated Firestar Diamond FZE. They argued that a stay on the proceedings would be unfair to the bank, as it would push the long-pending claim off indefinitely, reported PTI.