Nirav Modi has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London (File)
Fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi, who is fighting against India's extradition request on charges of the 2 billion dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, was on Thursday remanded to prison until November 11 after he appeared via video link from his London jail for a hearing.
Westminster Magistrates' Court Judge Nina Tempia confirmed that Modi's extradition trial is scheduled between May 11 and 15 next year and that he must re-appear via video link every 28 days for "call-over hearings".
The court was told that the 48-year-old, who spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, faces fraud and money laundering charges in India.
Modi has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London, one of England's overcrowded jails, since his arrest in March on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges brought by the Indian government.
Since his arrest, his legal team, led by solicitor Anand Doobay and barrister Clare Montgomery, has made four bail applications, which have been rejected each time due to Modi being deemed a flight risk.
In her judgment handed down at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on his last bail appeal in June, Justice Ingrid Simler had concluded there were "substantial grounds" to believe that Modi would fail to surrender as he does possess the means to "abscond".
Reiterating similar concerns as those previously raised by Westminster Magistrates' Court during earlier bail attempts, Judge Simler ruled that after considering all the material "carefully", she had found strong evidence to suggest there had been interference with witnesses and destruction of evidence in the case and concluded it can still occur.
The High Court judge stressed that while it was not for her to take a "definitive view" on the evidence, she had proceeded on the basis that the government of India has acted in good faith in what is "undoubtedly" a serious case and a "sophisticated international conspiracy" to defraud, together with money laundering.
Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on an extradition warrant on March 19 and has been in prison since.