British Home Secretary Priti Patel has approved the extradition of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi who is wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with a ₹14,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam.
In February, a London court had cleared the extradition. Modi was arrested in London in 2019 on an extradition warrant. He now has the option of legally challenging his extradition before the UK High Court.
The process could take months or even years, as seen in the case of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who went to court against his extradition order signed in February 2019. He lost the appeal in the high court but is believed to have applied for asylum in the UK. It’s not clear how long a decision could take. Mallya, a former Member of Parliament in India, is wanted in a ₹9,000-crore loan default case.
