Nirav Modi accused of kidnapping staff in Egypt, destroying & hiding evidence

LONDON: Fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly forced 12 of his staff to move to Egypt, took their mobile phones, laptops and passports off them and kept them there against their will, and forced them to sign false statements, bribed and even threatened to kill one of them — at the exact time his businesses were being investigated by the CBI after defaulting on loan repayments to Punjab National Bank, the Westminster magistrates’ court here heard on Monday.
Nirav (49) also allegedly destroyed his company server in Dubai, destroyed the laptops and mobile phones he confiscated and sent critical original documents relating to his business to a law firm when it was under the scanner of the CBI. The server was removed on a hard disk and allegedly given to Pakistani nationals to destroy, the court heard.
The dummy directors worked for shadow companies Nirav had set up in Dubai and Hong Kong to give the impression he was carrying out a genuine jewellery trade, the court was told.
Nirav appeared via videolink from prison for his second main extradition hearing to face fresh charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perverting the course of justice.
One of the alleged dummy directors, Ashish Lad, relayed in a statement how he was offered Rs 20 lakh to sign a false statement and that he got a phone call in Cairo from Nirav who shouted Gujarati expletives at him when he said he wanted to go back to India. “I will get you killed. I will ruin your life. I will get you implicated in a theft,” Lad quoted Nirav as telling him.
Nirav had paid for their flights and accommodation in Cairo, where they had their passports confiscated and were forced to stay with no work as “they were in possession of incriminating information,” Helen Malcolm, representing the Crown Prosecution Service on behalf of the Indian government, told the court. Several gave written and video evidence saying they were asked to sign false statements saying they had gone to Egypt of their own volition.
They were told they would be arrested by the investigating agencies if they returned to India, and if they cooperated with Nirav they would get shelter, Malcolm said.
Clare Montgomery QC, representing Nirav, said all the alleged offences happened outside India, in Dubai and Cairo, so it was “extra-territorial conduct” as far as India was concerned. Montgomery denied allegations the dummy directors were forced to go to Cairo. “They went to Cairo to get legal advice and support. They had tickets bought from them and were sent back to India. They were told to tell the investigating agencies the truth,” she said, adding that there was no evidence their phones and laptops were destroyed and that Ashish Lad “was not a credible witness”.
A new video of Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai — where Nirav will be housed — was shown to the court to illustrate how the 300-sq-foot cell had “free passage of natural light and air” with three ceiling fans, six tube lights, an LED TV and an attached shower.
Judge Samuel Mark Goozée refused an application by Montgomery to hear further evidence in favour of Nirav by former high court judge Abhay Thipsay in private this week. Montgomery claimed Thipsay had been subjected to a “disgraceful personal attack” by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in India the day after he gave evidence at Nirav's first hearing in May.