Nehal Modi, the brother of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, has been arrested in the United States following an extradition request from India. The arrest was confirmed by the United States Department of Justice, who informed Indian authorities on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) jointly submitted the extradition request in connection with the multi-billion-dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

Nehal Modi is accused of playing a key role in laundering the proceeds of crime on behalf of his brother, Nirav Modi, who is also facing extradition from the UK. Investigations by the ED and CBI have revealed that Nehal allegedly assisted in concealing and transferring large sums of illicit funds through a network of shell companies and overseas transactions, violating Indian laws.

The charges against Nehal Modi include money laundering under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and criminal conspiracy under Sections 120-B and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the ED's chargesheet, Nehal "knowingly and intentionally" helped his brother divert money to shell corporations and destroyed key evidence. It is also alleged that after the PNB scam came to light, Nehal Modi, along with another co-accused, took away diamonds and pearls from Hong Kong, as well as cash and gold from Dubai.

Notably, this is not the first time Nehal Modi has faced accusations of fraud. In 2022, he was convicted in a New York court for fraudulently acquiring diamonds valued at over $2.6 million from LLD Diamonds USA. He had made false representations regarding a purported deal with Costco Wholesale Corporation to obtain the diamonds between March and August 2015. He was serving a sentence in a New York prison for this crime. After being released from prison on July 4th, he was immediately arrested based on India's extradition request.

The extradition proceedings for Nehal Modi are scheduled to begin on July 17, with a status conference to determine the trial date. Nehal is expected to apply for bail during this hearing, which the US prosecution is likely to oppose.

With Nehal Modi's arrest, all three key perpetrators of the PNB case – Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, and Nehal Modi – are now in custody in the UK, Belgium and the US, respectively. Nirav Modi was arrested in London in 2019, while Mehul Choksi was taken into custody in Antwerp in April. India is pursuing extradition proceedings against Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi as well.