Nirav Modi’s bail rejected, to remain in custody until March 29

Police said Modi, 48, had been arrested in the Holborn area of central London on Tuesday (March 19).

A British judge refused to grant Nirav Modi bail after the Indian billionaire jeweller appeared in a London court on Wednesday (March 20).
Modi, arrested on Tuesday (March 19) on behalf the Indian authorities who want to extradite him to face charges over a $2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), was remanded in custody until March 29.
India had asked Britain in August to extradite Modi, one of the main suspects charged in the $2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), India's biggest banking fraud.
Police said Modi, 48, had been arrested in the Holborn area of central London on Tuesday and was due to appear at London's Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Punjab National Bank, India's second-largest state-run bank, in 2018 said that two jewelry groups headed by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had defrauded it by raising credit from other Indian banks using illegal guarantees issued by rogue PNB staff.
Modi and Choksi, who have both denied wrongdoing, left India before the details of the fraud became public.
In December, a British court agreed that another high-profile Indian businessman, aviation tycoon Vijay Mallya, could be extradited to his homeland to face fraud charges. Mallya is currently appealing the decision.
 

• India