Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who was arrested by authorities in London on Tuesday, 19 March, has reportedly told a UK Court that he is working in the capital for a salary of 20,000 pounds (Rs 18 lakh) per month.
Modi told the Westminster Magistrates’ Court that he is currently employed by Diamond Holdings Ltd and that he pays his council tax regularly, as per a News Nation report.
The court was also told that he had arrived in London in January 2018, prior to any allegations being raised against him.
His council also maintained that Modi had kept a very "visible" presence and had even offered to cooperate with the UK authorities since his arrival, as per the report.
He also produced salary slips and his National Insurance (NI) number as proof that he was paying tax.
Modi, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges amounting to $2 billion, spent Holi behind bars in one of England's most overcrowded jails on Thursday, a day after a UK judge rejected his bail application.
The 48-year-old was arrested by Scotland Yard on Tuesday and presented before District Judge Marie Mallon in London on Wednesday.
The judge remanded him in custody till 29 March after which he was transferred to Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Wandsworth in south-west London, as per PTI.
While he would hope to be held in a separate cell, the overcrowding pressures of the jail may mean him sharing a prison cell with any of its around 1,430 male prisoners.
Modi, one of India's richest men accustomed to the high-life and celebrity circles around the world, will be faced with some harsh conditions at the prison amid some dubious inmates.
(With inputs from PTI)
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