Nirav Modi appears in person to fight Rs 100-crore Indian Bank case in London

TOI London correspondent: Fugitive Jeweler Nirav Modi On Monday, he appeared in person before the London Circuit Commercial Court to fight another legal battle – with Indian banks claiming over Rs 100 crore from him.He was a litigant himself until last week, but at the last minute hired a lawyer, Vivek Kapoor of Essex No. 39 Solicitors. Dressed in a black suit and white open-collared shirt, Nirav arrived 90 minutes late in a prison van and sat on a Victorian pier surrounded by metal bars.The case revolves around a loan provided by an Indian bank to Nirav’s Dubai-based company Firestar Diamond FZE on July 2, 2012. The initial loan amount was US$5 million (approximately Rs 46 crore), which was increased to US$15 million (approximately Rs 140 crore) in 2013 and reduced to US$12 million (approximately Rs 112 crore) in 2017. Nirav provided a personal guarantee for the loan. The date is August 3, 2013. As the loan was not repaid as required when it was terminated in early 2018, when Nirav’s fraud allegations against Punjab National Bank surfaced, the bank filed a claim against Firestar before the HC on May 9, 2018, adding Nirav as a party to the claim on October 22, 2018.On March 8, 2024, the bank obtained summary judgment against Firestar in the amount of $8.4 million (approximately Rs. 780 million). The amount has not yet been paid and the two corporate guarantors are in liquidation.On October 2, 2025, the bank sent a demand letter to Nirav regarding the debt. The bank claimed it also sent a request on April 6, 2018, but Kapoor disputed this, claiming Nirav never received the request and saying the October request was “time-barred” under the law. He also argued that the guarantee was defective and that no “event of default” occurred when the loan was terminated.The bank said Nirav currently owes it more than $10.7 million (over Rs 100 crore), including interest.Kapoor called for the case to be dismissed. He said the bank’s claims were “riddled with flaws and flaws” and that the bank was using “media accusations of fraud” as an “excuse to cover up flaws in the bank’s case”.Tom Beasley, representing the bank, argued it had the right to terminate the loan because of allegations since January 2018 that Nirav owed PNB more than $2 billion, which could adversely affect his ability to repay the loan.