PM Modi Seeks UK’s ‘Close’ Cooperation In Extradition Of Economic Offenders To India

<p>London, Jul 24 (PTI) With India seeking extradition of a number of billionaire fugitives from the UK, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the concerned agencies of the two sides will continue to work in “close” coordination and cooperation on the matter.</p>
<p>The prime minister made the remarks after meeting his British counterpart Keir Starmer at Chequers, the countryside residence of the British PM.</p>
<p>”On the matter of extradition of economic offenders as well, our agencies will continue to work together in close coordination and cooperation,” Modi said in his media statement.</p>
<p>India has been raising with the UK the issue of extradition of economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.</p>
<p>At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said PM Modi sought the UK’s cooperation to bring to justice the economic offenders and fugitives.</p>
<p>Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond merchant, is wanted in India to stand trial on fraud and money laundering charges in an estimated USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case.</p>
<p>Mallya, who fled to the United Kingdom in March 2016, is wanted in India over a default of Rs 9,000 crore that was loaned to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) by several banks.</p>
<p>Lalit Modi is also wanted by Indian probe agencies for his alleged involvement in money laundering and violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>PM Modi uses cricketing metaphor to describe India’s partnership with UK</strong></h3>
<p>London, Jul 24 (PTI) “There may be a swing and a miss at times, but we always play with a straight bat!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his British counterpart Keir Starmer on Thursday as he used a cricketing metaphor to describe India’s partnership with the UK.</p>
<p>Modi also said that India was committed to building a high-scoring, solid partnership with the UK.</p>
<p>”For both of us, Cricket is not just a game, but a passion. And also, a great metaphor for our partnership. There may be a swing and a miss at times, but we always play with a straight bat! We are committed to building a high-scoring, solid partnership,” Modi said in his media statement after bilateral talks with Starmer.</p>
<p>He said the agreements concluded today, along with Vision 2035, are milestones that carry forward this very spirit.</p>
<p>India and the UK inked a landmark free trade agreement on Thursday.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Modi, along with Prime Minister Starmer, also interacted with players of the ‘Buckingham Street Cricket Hub’ in London.</p>
<p>”India and the UK are connected by a shared passion for cricket. At Chequers, PM Keir Starmer and I interacted with players from Buckinghamshire Street Cricket Hubs. Great to see sport fostering people-to-people ties between our nations,” Modi posted on X.</p>
<p>He gave them a bat signed by the Indian cricket team which won the <a title=”T20 World Cup” href=”https://news.abplive.com/topic/t20-world-cup” data-type=”interlinkingkeywords”>T20 World Cup</a>.</p>
<p>Cricket, which is believed to have originated in the UK, is the most popular sport in India.</p>
<p>The Indian cricket team, led by Captain Shubman Gill, is currently touring England for a five match test series. The two teams are playing their fourth test match in Manchester. PTI ZH ZH</p>
<p><strong><em>(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)</em></strong></p>