TOI correspondent from London : Economic fugitive Vijay Mallya invited fellow billionaire Nirav Modi to his multi-million-pound townhouse overlooking Regent's Park where the pair discussed their respective exiles when the latter was living freely in London before his arrest, the final podcast of the "Diamond King", released Friday, claims.
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A source in the diamond trade who tipped off Telegraph about Nirav's location, leading to his arrest in March 2019, claims in Episode 4: "Mallya and Nirav were in contact... "Mallya told him he was a fool for living so openly and told him he was too exposed, but Nirav didn't listen."
"It's possible Mallya's blueprint gave Nirav the confidence he didn't need to hide." But Nirav did not get bail and has been in a London jail for seven years.
Despite an Interpol red notice, Nirav "would regularly stop for a cup of coffee at a cafe in Oxford Street where he would sit reading newspapers... where anyone could see him," the source said. However, he started taking precautions later. To avoid being seen in restaurants, he would pay private chefs £200 to £300 per hour to come to his apartment and cook, but they were never of Indian origin, and it was never the same chef twice, the podcast revealed.
"I don't think he was clever enough to come up with the (Punjab National Bank) scam himself," the source added. The podcast speculates that Nirav has submitted a second asylum case, which is why he has not gone back. Nirav's solicitor Anand Doobay, who Mallya also used, told TOI: "We are not commenting."
