Social media posts claiming fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi has admitted in a London court that he did not flee India but was forced to leave by Congress party leaders whom he paid 456 crores as commission, are false as no such statement was made.
BOOM found that the statement attributed to Modi is fake. Furthermore, we debunked a similar fake quote attributed to Modi that blamed Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for the scam.
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Nirav Modi is accused of a 1.8 billion dollar fraud by Punjab National Bank. He had fled India in January 2018. He was arrested in the United Kingdom on March 16, 2019, and has been lodged in London's Wandsworth jail. A London court on October 20, 2021, said that it would hear Modi's appeal against his extradition to India on December 14, 2021, PTI reported.
Several fake statements falsely attributed to Modi have been viral ever since.
The fake quote in Hindi translates to the following, "I did not run away from India, I was forced to flee. Congress leaders ate 456 crores commission, I did not eat alone, gave everyone a share. My share of Rs 13,000 crore is 32%, the rest is taken by Congress leaders: Nirav Modi (statement in London court)."
(Hindi - "मैं भागा नहीं हु, मुझे भगाया गया है, 456 करोड़ कमिशन खाया कांग्रेस के नेताओं ने, मैंने अकेले नहीं खाया, सबको हिस्सा दिया। सब मिल कर चुकाये. 13000 करोड़ में से मेरी सिर्फ 32% हिस्सेदारी थी बाकी सब कोंग्रेसी नेताओं का है: नीरव मादी (लंडन कोर्ट में बयान) चोकीदार को चोर बताने वाला ही चोर निकला।)
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Viral on Facebook
The same screenshot with the statement attributed to Nirav Modi was being shared on Facebook.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM debunked a similar statement in June 2021 attributed to Modi in which BJP leaders were blamed for the scam. The viral quote is almost identical in content with the 456 crores part added to the claim.
We checked news reports about any such statement made by Nirav Modi linking his exit from the country to Congress leaders but did not find any credible reports on the London court proceedings where Modi made a statement to the court accusing Congress leaders of taking 456 crores as commission in the PNB Bank fraud case.
According to a Times of India report dated March 21, 2019, 'Nirav Modi was arrested on Tuesday when a teller at Metro Bank in London, where he had gone to open an account, called the police'. The report further stated that Modi was produced before the Westminster Magistrates' Court later, where he contested his extradition to India. However, the district judge Marie Mallon had denied bail to him and has been lodged in London's Wandsworth jail since.
Throughout the proceedings of the case, which has gone on for over two years, Modi has denied the charges and opposed the efforts to extradite him from the UK to India. But his multiple attempts at seeking bail were repeatedly turned down as he was deemed a flight risk.
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