New Delhi: A London court has issued an arrest warrant against jewellery designer Nirav Modi in response to an Enforcement Directorate request for his extradition in a money laundering case, officials said on Monday.

Nirav Modi, who was recently spotted on the streets of London, is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore. Officials said the investigative agency has been informed about the issuance of the warrant by the Westminster Magistrate Court against Modi and he is expected to be put under formal arrest by the local police soon.

Modi will be subsequently brought before the court to secure bail and the legal proceedings for his extradition will begin thereafter, they said.

A similar procedure was followed when absconding liquor businessman Vijay Mallya wasarrested by the London police after a warrant was issued based on the ED's request to extradite him to India in a money laundering case pegged at Rs 9,000 crore. Mallya's case is in final stages in that country.

Nirav Modi was seen on the streets of London sporting a handlebar moustache and an Ostrich skin jacket worth almost Rs 10 lakh by British daily The Telegraph recently. Further investigations by the newspaper revealed that the fugitive businessman was living in the luxury central London apartment and has also started a new diamond business in Soho.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), early this month, had said that United Kingdom's home secretary Sajid Javid had referred India's request for extraditing Modi to a court for initiating legal proceedings against the diamantaire.

India made