Diamond magnate Modi loses bid to take extradition fight to UK Supreme Court

Fugitive Indian diamond magnate Nirav Modi on Thursday lost a bid to take his fight against extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering to the UK’s Supreme Court.

The jeweller, who fled India in 2018 before details of his alleged involvement in large-scale fraud at the Punjab National Bank became public, has argued there is a high risk of suicide if he is extradited.

Modi, 51, has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer declined to comment.

London’s High Court on Thursday refused Modi’s application to certify a “point of law of general public importance” and rejected his application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Judge Jeremy Stuart-Smith last month ruled that Modi could be kept safe at Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, where he is due to be detained.

The judge said that the risk of suicide if Modi is extradited may be high, but that the arrangements at the prison “will enable the authorities to cope properly with Mr Modi’s condition”.