28/07/2026
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28/07/2026
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LONDON, Jul 28: India pushed back against accepting the return of illegal immigrants from the United Kingdom because of Britain’s failure to extradite fugitive Indian diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, former UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has said.
Patel, who served as Britain’s home secretary from 2019 to 2022, made the remarks in the upcoming four-part podcast series “Diamond King”, which examines Modi’s rise and downfall. The podcast is produced by Daily Telegraph journalists Rob Mendick and Mick Brown, who first reported finding Modi living openly in London in 2019.
Patel said she was “horrified” that Modi remains in the UK despite her approval of his extradition in 2021. She claimed the Indian government was “hugely angry” over the delay and used the case as leverage in discussions over accepting Indians whose asylum claims had failed or who were living illegally in Britain.
“I had a hell of a challenge getting them [India] to sign off on receiving failed asylum seekers,” Patel said, adding that she believed the dispute was linked to the high-profile extradition case.
“Until they saw action and movement on those, they had some leverage over us, which was terribly frustrating,” she said.
Patel criticised Britain’s legal process, saying Modi should already have been extradited to India.
“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. “I’m actually pretty appalled and horrified that he’s still here.”
Modi Extradition Battle
Nirav Modi, 55, remains in London’s Pentonville prison over allegations linked to a nearly $2 billion fraud involving Punjab National Bank (PNB). Indian authorities have also accused him of money laundering, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed additional charges alleging interference with evidence and witnesses.
Indian authorities have long sought his extradition to face trial in India. The process has been delayed by a series of legal challenges, including appeals based on human rights concerns and a separate confidential asylum claim.
Modi exhausted several legal options in the UK and later lost a final attempt to block extradition through the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in France. His last effort to reopen the case was rejected by the High Court of England in March 2026.
Patel said Modi should be returned to India to face the legal process there.
“[Nirav] Modi 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.
She described the prolonged legal battle as “a flagrant abuse of our system” and said the delays were also unfair to British taxpayers.
The case has become a major test of UK-India cooperation on extradition, with the dispute over Modi’s continued stay in Britain adding pressure to wider discussions on migration and the return of failed asylum seekers.
