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Diamond tycoon Nirav Modi has been arrested in the UK, after being accused of “cheating” state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) out of nearly $2bn (£1.5bn) last year.
Modi, 48, was arrested in London on Tuesday and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today (20 March), with the BBC saying the arrest was made on behalf of the Indian authorities, which asked for his extradition.
According to reports he is alleged to have worked with bank employees to obtain huge unsecured loans over a seven-year period, according to a complaint filed by PNB.
The borrowed funds caused shares in the bank to fall this week. According to PNB, some of the loans were used to “replenish lines of credit” with other lenders, and the scam could have “wider ramifications” for India’s banking sector.
He flew out of the country along with his family on 1 January 2018. Modi is a third-generation jewellery tycoon whose clients have included Kate Winslet and Priyanka Chopra.
