Nirav Modi spotted in London, living in £8 million flat and has started new diamond business

While fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi has an extradition and Interpol red corner notice against him, he is reportedly living a life of luxury in London. The businessman fled India in January 2018, days before a scam was unearthed, in which the Punjab National Bank accused Modi and his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi of cheating the bank of Rs 13,600 crore.

Revealing Modi's whereabouts, Telegraph UK released a video on Saturday, March 9, in which the fugitive businessman can be seen strolling on the streets of London sporting a handle-bar moustache and a jacket by Ostrich Hide, said to cost "at least £10,000." Several reporters were seen trying to speak to him, but Modi constantly refuses to take their questions with a "no comment" retort.

A reporter can be heard asking Modi if he has got a political asylum in the UK, to which he says: "Sorry, no comment." Another reporter then says that the businessman owes people in India a lot of money and those people would want to know his whereabouts. To this too he says: "No comment."

The report went on to state that the 48-year-old businessman now lives in an upscale three-bedroom £8 million apartment at the Centre Point, a luxury skyscraper, off Tottenham Court Road. He has even started a new diamond business in Soho, incorporated in May 2018 and retailing jewellery and luxury watches.

"Modi appears to have adopted a surprisingly nonchalant attitude to his fugitive status, walking his small dog each day between his apartment and the diamond company's office in a town house in Soho, just a few hundred yards from his Centre Point home," the report further added.

In addition, Modi has also recently received a national insurance number, a document mandatory to legally work in the United Kingdom. The document was given by the department for work & pensions, and thanks to this, he has been able to operate online bank accounts in the country. "He has also been in contact with a wealth management company based in west London, which specialises in advice to rich foreigners," Telegraph said, adding that the reason behind the British government's inaction on the Interpol notice isn't known.

Meanwhile, Modi's seaside bungalow in Alibaug was, on Friday, razed using dynamite sticks. The structure was demolished in the second attempt, after the first one failed due to the high quality of materials used.