UK Court Orders Nirav Modi to Pay Bank of India $11.5 Million

• UK High Court ruled Nirav Modi must pay Bank of India over USD 11.5 million, including interest.
• Court upheld the validity and enforceability of Modi’s personal loan guarantee.
• The case relates to a Dubai-based company linked to Modi and is separate from the PNB fraud case.
• Modi remains imprisoned in the UK while contesting extradition to India.

GG News Bureau
London, 24th June: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi has been ordered by a London court to pay Bank of India more than USD 11.5 million, including accrued interest, after the High Court ruled that he remains liable under a personal loan guarantee linked to a Dubai-based company associated with him.

In a judgment delivered by the London Circuit Commercial Court, Justice Simon Tinkler ruled in favour of Bank of India, rejecting Modi’s challenge to the enforceability of the guarantee issued in connection with a loan to Firestar Diamond FZE, a Dubai-incorporated firm linked to his business interests.

The court held that Modi had been validly served with a demand notice issued by the bank in October 2025 and that the personal guarantee remained legally enforceable under Indian law.

“Mr Modi was validly served with the October 2025 demand. That was a valid demand for a liability to the Bank under the Personal Guarantee,” Justice Tinkler said in his ruling.

The judge determined that Modi was liable for the principal outstanding amount of USD 4.1 million. After adding accumulated interest, the total amount payable had risen to approximately USD 11.5 million by March 2026, with additional interest continuing to accrue.

Bank of India has been pursuing the recovery claim since 2018, when allegations first emerged regarding companies linked to Modi.

The bank’s legal representatives clarified that the case was a commercial recovery dispute and was unrelated to the wider allegations surrounding the multi-billion-dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

“This case is a commercial banking recovery claim by Bank of India against Mr Modi as guarantor. It does not concern, and makes no findings in respect of, the wider fraud allegations against Mr Modi or the Punjab National Bank fraud,” the bank’s legal team stated.

The court examined three key issues: whether Modi had been properly served with the demand notice, whether the demand related to a valid liability and whether the personal guarantee was enforceable. The judge ruled in favour of Bank of India on all three counts.

During the proceedings, Modi largely represented himself and sought multiple adjournments, citing severe vision loss, clinical depression and restrictions arising from his imprisonment.

The judgment also recorded administrative failures within the UK prison system after Modi was transferred from HMP Thameside to HMP Pentonville last year. Court papers noted delays in transferring legal documents and instances where prison authorities failed to produce him before the court despite valid orders.

The prison governor later acknowledged the errors and introduced procedural changes to prevent similar incidents.

Modi remains in custody in the United Kingdom, where he is fighting extradition to India. Indian authorities are seeking his return in connection with three separate criminal cases, including the alleged USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank fraud investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a money laundering case pursued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and allegations of witness and evidence tampering.

In 2021, then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved Modi’s extradition after British courts found a prima facie case against him. Since then, he has unsuccessfully challenged the extradition order through multiple appeals and bail applications.

Most recently, he failed in an attempt to reopen the extradition proceedings on the grounds that he faced a risk of torture in India. He is now believed to have approached the European Court of Human Rights, where proceedings remain confidential.