Nirav Modi charged in US under RICO Act, US authorities expected to request extradition

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 4, 2019

Nirav Modi has been charged in the US under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act and US authorities are expected to request Modi’s extradition from the UK to US. 

“We have learnt that the US too is likely to stake claim for Nirav Modi’s extradition and might be soon writing to the UK seeking his extradition so that he can be tried under its RICO Act, under which he has been recently charged by a US bankruptcy court,” an anonymous senior Enforcement Directorate official told the Economic Times.

A US extradition request could push Modi to agree to extradition to India to stand trial for his accused fraud at the Punjab National Bank. Modi could face up to 20 years in US prison under the RICO Act if charged and would be required to pay three times the damages he would be required to under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in India, ED sources said.

“In the event Modi’s extradition comes through and the US also stakes claim for his extradition, since we were the first to move for his extradition, we will have the first right to have him extradited to India so that he can be tried under our laws,” the ED official said. 

The US court has charged Modi along with his associates Mihir Bhansali and Ajay Gandhi and senior executives of his three bankrupt US businesses- Fantasy, Firestar Diamond, and A. Jaffe. The RICO Act is designed to crack down on organised crime. 

Modi is being probed for money laundering by the ED and for criminal conspiracy by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He is accused along with his uncle and fellow jeweller Mehul Choksi.