No political asylum sought in UK by diamantaire Nirav Modi

Absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is at the heart of the multi-crore bank fraud, has not sought political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK), said sources.

However, the UK government has not shared any details with India in this context.

Nirav is reportedly in the UK and needs to be extradited as non-bailable warrant (NBW) has already been issued against him.

The revelation comes barely days after the Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

RCN has also been issued against Nirav's brother Nishal Modi and his company's executive Subhash Parab in connection with the



scam.

The development came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) requested the Interpol to issue the notice against Nirav, who is wanted in India in the money laundering case.

On June 28, an official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India has requested a group of countries to deny entry to Nirav.

The Ministry also sought assistance from some European countries including France, UK and Belgium to trace and restrict Nirav's movements.

For those unversed, the PNB detected the multi-crore scam this year, wherein Nirav and his uncle-cum-business-partner Mehul Choksi had allegedly cheated the bank to the tune of USD 2 billion, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.