Mumbai, May 21: After Vijay Mallya, who has taken refuge in London, now another absconder and alleged mastermind behind PNB fraud case, Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are seeking shelter in London. According to CNN News-18, Modi is in talks with Mallya's lawyer Anand Doobay, the extradition expert to seek his help.

According to the earlier report, Modi first fled to the UAE from Mumbai, from where he moved to Hong Kong in the month of March. After the Indian government took up the matter with Chinese authorities to request for his provisional arrest, who in return assured India that the autonomous government of Hong Kong is free to extradite Nirav, and won't be a roadblock. However, before the authorities could do anything Modi fled to London and subsequently to New York in the United States.

The uncle-nephew diamantaire duo who allegedly duped Rs 13,000 crore of Punjab National Bank by lending money by providing fake Letter of Undertakings (LoUs) are on onlook-out by the central agencies. The Indian government also suspended their passport and registered an FIR. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently handling the case. While after it was reported that Nirav moved to New York from London it was claimed that he is holding dual citizenship, outlawed in India and another country's passport along with Indian passport which was impounded by Indian government earlier.

Meanwhile, to tighten the grip against such offenders who usually shield in foreign countries, the Centre government (Narendra Modi )on April 21, approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018 that allows confiscating properties of corporate escapees. Under the new Bill, properties within or outside India may be subject to seizure or confiscation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Also, this ordinance would force them to return to India to face trial for scheduled offences. And this would eventually help the banks and other financial institutions to achieve higher recovery from financial defaulters, improving the financial health of banking institutions.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2018 04:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).