UK court rejects diamond merchant Nirav Modi's bail plea for fifth time

A UK court on Thursday rejected for the fifth time the bail plea of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who is fighting his extradition to India on charges over the nearly $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.

The 49-year-old, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March last year and is scheduled for an extradition trial in May, made his fifth attempt at getting bail on the basis of a change in circumstances.

However, the High Court in London rejected his bail plea.Modi was arrested on March 19, 2019, on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges brought by the Indian government.