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London High Court rules fugitive businessman Nirav Modi must pay Bank of India over 10.7 million dollars under a personal guarantee linked to a Firestar Diamond FZE loan.
Fugitive Nirav Modi, founder and creative director of a luxury diamond jewellery brand. (File pic: PTI)
A London High Court has ruled in favour of Bank of India, holding that fugitive diamond businessman Nirav Modi is liable to pay the public sector lender more than $10.7 million (over Rs 100 crore) under a personal guarantee linked to a loan extended to one of his companies.
Justice Simon Tinkler, delivering the judgment in the London Circuit Commercial Court on Tuesday, said: “Mr Modi is liable under the personal guarantee to the bank for the principal amount due of $4.1 million (approximately Rs 38.9 crore). The interest calculated on the basis set out by the bank is to be added. Mr Modi has not provided any defence to explain why the bank was not entitled to that sum.”
Also Read: Nirav Modi To Be Brought Back To India Soon? CBI Teams In London As Extradition Nears | Exclusive
Modi, who is lodged in a London prison while contesting his extradition to India, had argued that the guarantee could not be enforced, that he had never received valid repayment demands from the bank, and that there was no material adverse effect warranting the termination of the loan.
The dispute stems from a loan extended by the Bank of India to Firestar Diamond FZE, a Dubai-based company, in July 2012. Modi executed a personal guarantee for the borrowing on August 3, 2013.
Following the emergence of the alleged Punjab National Bank fraud in early 2018, Bank of India recalled the loan and issued repayment demands to both Firestar Diamond FZE and Modi in March and April that year. According to the court, those demands were not answered.
On March 8, 2024, the bank secured summary judgment for the principal amount of $4.1 million along with interest, before issuing another demand to Modi in October 2025.
In his ruling, Justice Tinkler observed: “From mid-Feb 2018, it was reasonable to infer that the borrower and every company in the Firestar Group was likely to be materially and negatively affected” by the alleged PNB fraud and “the value of the guarantees provided by Mr Modi… was very likely substantially impaired.”
The judgment also referred to an email sent by Modi to the bank on February 17, 2018, which stated: “….a media frenzy has led to immediate search and seizure of operations, which has in turn resulted in Firestar International Pvt Ltd and Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd effectively ceasing to be going concerns. This has thereby jeopardised our ability to discharge the dues of the group to the banks.”
Although Modi denied receiving the repayment notices issued in April 2018 and October 2025, claiming he was not in India when they were served, the court held that both demands had been successfully delivered. Justice Tinkler noted that the October notice had also been sent to HMP Thameside, where Modi was incarcerated, while a copy of the April 2018 notice had been provided by Modi himself to his solicitors in 2019.
The court ultimately upheld the validity of the personal guarantee, ruling it to be fully enforceable.
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Prisha is the Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com, with more than 10 years of experience in national and international news. She specialises in editorial leadership, sharp news judgment, and high-impact st…Read More
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