Nirav Modi’s UK exile: warned by Vijay Mallya and joins prison chess club

Fugitive Indian jeweller Nirav Modi, wanted for a $2 billion Punjab National Bank fraud, has been living in London while fighting extradition to India. A recent podcast alleges that fellow fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya warned Modi that he was “too exposed” in the city, advice Modi ignored before his arrest in March 2019.

Modi remains in custody at HMP Wandsworth and later HMP Pentonville, where a court heard he chose to join the prison’s chess club rather than attend a hearing on the sale of a London luxury apartment linked to a Singapore‑based trust. The High Court adjourned the case, and extradition proceedings continue, with a recent appeal to the European Court of Human Rights reportedly rejected.