'He Should Be In Prison There': E UK Minister Says Nirav Modi Extradition Delay Hurt Ties With India
'He Should Be In Prison There': E UK Minister Says Nirav Modi Extradition Delay Hurt Ties With India Published By, Last Updated: July 28, 2026
'He Should Be In Prison There': E UK Minister Says Nirav Modi Extradition Delay Hurt Ties With India Published By, Last Updated: July 28, 2026, 04:09 IST Priti Patel said the Indian government had been "hugely angry" over Britain's failure to extradite the businessman wanted in the PNB fraud and money laundering case. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. (AFP file photo) UK home secretary Priti Patel has criticised Britain’s handling of the Nirav Modi extradition case, saying the prolonged delay has damaged trust with India and complicated cooperation between the two countries. Patel, who signed the fugitive diamond trader’s extradition order in April 2021 after UK courts found a prima facie case against him, said she was “appalled and horrified" that Modi remains in the UK. Speaking on The Daily Telegraph’s upcoming The Diamond King podcast, she said the Indian government had been “hugely angry" over Britain’s failure to extradite the businessman wanted in the alleged USD 2 billion Punjab Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.
“If our system were judicious and doing the right thing, rather than tying itself up in process and excuses, he should not be in this country," Patel said. She added that the delay had left India feeling “quite demoralised about even working with us". ‘He Should Be In Prison In India’ Patel said Nirav Modi should already be serving his sentence in India after facing due legal process. “He should be in prison… in India and serving his time there, having gone through a legal process, which is exactly what UK extradition laws and treaties are about," she said, describing the prolonged delay as “a flagrant abuse of our system" and “an insult to British taxpayers". The 55-year-old jeweller is being held in London’s Pentonville prison. He is wanted in India in three criminal cases, including the CBI’s PNB fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering probe and a case related to alleged interference with evidence and witnesses.
Case Also Affected Wider UK-India Ties Patel said the case also created diplomatic challenges during her tenure as home secretary between 2019 and 2022. She revealed that India was reluctant to cooperate on accepting failed asylum seekers while the extradition case remained unresolved. “I had a hell of a challenge getting them [India] to sign off on receiving failed asylum seekers… and I’m convinced it’s because we had this high-profile case [of Nirav Modi] and we had another high-profile case at the time and until they [India] saw action and movement on those, guess what, they had some leverage over us, which was terribly frustrating," she said. Nirav Modi has exhausted his legal remedies in the UK and has reportedly also failed in a final appeal before the European Court of Human Rights. His extradition to India is now widely seen as imminent after years of legal challenges, including appeals on human rights grounds and a confidential asylum claim.
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