A day after a London court has issued an arrest warrant against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that the extradition process is underway, news agency ANI reported quoting agency sources.

“Nirav Modi’s extradition process is underway, we are doing everything, it will take time,” ANI quoted the CBI source as saying.

Nirav Modi is the main accused in the Rs 13,700 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI are investigating Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others for alleged money laundering and corruption to perpetrate the alleged scam in PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai that was unearthed in 2018.

Now that a warrant has been issued, Modi can choose to either voluntarily surrender at a police station or be arrested by the Metropolitan Police, who have been tasked with executing the warrant.

The business tycoon’s arrest, which could take place within days, would lead to Modi being produced before a District Judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London to be formally charged, following which he is expected to seek bail.

The case will then follow a similar pattern through the UK courts as that of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who remains on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April 2017 on Rs 9,000 fraud and money laundering charges. The 63-year-old businessman has since filed an application seeking leave to appeal against his extradition ordered by UK home secretary Sajid Javid last month. Mallya’s case is in final stages in that country.

According to UK-based daily, Nirav Modi has taken accomodation in a swanky 8 million pounds apartment in London’s West End. Nirav Modi is also believed to be now running a new business, which describes itself as a wholesale trader in watches and jewellery.