The Bank of India case against Firestar Diamond Group and Nirav Modi pertains to the huge fraud he allegedly perpetrated against Indian Banks. As part of the same proceedings, Bank of India managed to get a summary judgment against Firestar Diamond (Dubai) in March 2024 and is now seeking to hold Modi accountable
Nirav Modi
Nirav Modi challenged the claim of Bank of India (BOI) that he stood as guarantor to the overdraft facility extended to his Firestar Diamond Group to the tune of $9 million between 2012 and 2017. Appearing before Deputy High Court judge David Bailey on Friday, Nirav Modi raised questions about the genuineness of the signatures on documents and sought the court’s approval to inspect documents and stay the proceedings.
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In May 2018, Bank of India approached the high court in London seeking to recover $9 million that was given to Firestar Diamond Group of which Nirav Modi was the CEO. The bank managed to get a summary judgment against Firestar Diamond in March 2024 and is now seeking to hold Modi accountable as he was the guarantor to the $9 million that was given to his company. The Bank of India case against Firestar Diamond Group and Nirav Modi pertains to the huge fraud he allegedly perpetrated against several Indian banks to the tune of $1.8 billion. Punjab National Bank was the worst hit as it emerged that Nirav Modi obtained fraudulent letters of undertaking allowing him to secure overseas loans without collateral. He faces several cases in India and the US.
“So, your position is that you do not recall signing them,” the judge asked Modi, who replied that the services of a handwriting expert would be needed. Tom Beasley, the bank’s counsel, told the court that it was a ploy to delay the case and that five years ago when the case was filed Nirav Modi had admitted that Firestar Diamond had borrowed money, and he stood guarantor to the facility. The court reserved judgment on Modi’s application to inspect documents and stay the current proceedings.
“This claim was brought in 2019 and today we are at the end of 2024. I have been incarcerated for six years, and I am the longest-serving unconvicted (sic) prisoner in the UK. I do not know how long this will continue. Hopefully, I will be able to get bail, and if I get it, I will be able to defend better,” he told the court. Court documents filed by Milan Kapadia, the solicitor for the Bank of India suggest that the bank suspects Nirav Modi still has access to substantial assets and money and hence they want to pursue him.
Nirav Modi has been in prison since he was arrested in March 2019 to face extradition proceedings at the request of India. Modi is accused of defrauding Indian banks to the tune of $1.8 billion. The courts in the UK have agreed to his extradition and he has exhausted all legal avenues. However, by virtue of “confidential proceedings” he has managed to stall his extradition. At one point during the argument, Nirav Modi made a plea for access to a laptop. Seeking a level playing field he told the court, “If I do not have access to a laptop, he also [Beasley] should not have access to one. He has tanks and missiles, and I have wooden sticks.” Judge David Bailey sympathised with Nirav Modi but said that it is not for him to make an order for a laptop to be made available to him.
For the first time, Nirav Modi confidently claimed that he “might never be extradited to India.” “Extradition was ordered in 2020 and by rule, the [Indian] government had 7 to 14 days to extradite me, but here I am in 2024,” he said. Modi also pointed out that his continuous incarceration for close to six years would mean he would hardly have any jail term in India if he was pronounced guilty. “The probability of me going to India is very low.”
The Bank of India case against Firestar Diamond Group and Nirav Modi pertains to the huge fraud he allegedly perpetrated against Indian Banks. As part of the same proceedings, Bank of India managed to get a summary judgment against Firestar Diamond (Dubai) in March 2024 and is now seeking to hold Modi accountable as he was the guarantor to the $9 million that was given to his company.
2018
Year BOI approached HC in London
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