Overview
- Former UK home secretary Priti Patel made the claim on The Daily Telegraph’s Diamond King podcast that India resisted taking back thousands of visa overstayers because Britain had not yet removed fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi.
- Patel, who signed Modi’s extradition order in April 2021, said the unresolved case left Indian officials “hugely angry” and that they sometimes declined to accept charter flights or struggled to verify names the UK provided.
- Nirav Modi remains in UK custody in a London prison while his legal challenges and a confidential asylum claim have largely been exhausted and extradition is widely seen as imminent.
- India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded that it follows standard deportation procedures, that it is monitoring UK proceedings, and that Modi will be repatriated once the judicial process in Britain concludes.
- The dispute links a high‑profile $2 billion Punjab National Bank fraud case to broader UK‑India migration talks and could affect future cooperation on returns and legal assistance, so officials and campaigners will watch for formal removal steps and paperwork next.