UK court extends Nirav Modi's remand till May 24

A UK court on Friday extended the remand till May 24 of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi who is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of $2 billion.

The 48-year-old, who has been behind bars at Wandsworth prison in south-west London since his arrest last month, was produced before the judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video link from jail.

The brief hearing ended with the judge extending his jail term. 

On March 29, Modi's bail was rejected by Chief Magistrate Arbuthnot on the grounds that there was a "substantial risk he would fail to surrender".

Nirav's problems have been exacerbated by the fact that the US has charged him with violating Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act in an American bankruptcy court.

He is believed to have been living in the UK on an Investor Visa, applied for in 2015 at a time when the so-called '"golden visa" route was relatively easier for super-rich individuals to acquire residency rights in the UK based on a minimum of 2-million pound investment.

He was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on March 19. Indian authorities have been trying to extradite him since then.

During his first court appearance a day later, it emerged that the diamantaire accused of defrauding PNB via fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) had been in possession of multiple passports which have since been revoked by the Indian authorities.

(With inputs from news agencies)