New Delhi, Apr 26: A London court on Friday rejected the bail plea of renegade diamond businessman Nirav Modi for the third time. The fugitive diamond merchant will remain in jail till May 24, the next date of hearing.

Modi was arrested in London on March 19 in connection with the multi-billion dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case and he is currently facing extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom.

He was kept in custody at HM Prison Wandsworth till March 29 after the Westminster court had rejected his bail plea. Modi was arrested days after a warrant was issued by authorities in London.

On March 29, the Westminster Magistrates Court rejected the bail plea for a second time after the Crown Prosecution Service, on behalf of Indian authorities, opposed the bail plea and submitted a new file with additional evidence against Modi. The court had said that there were substantial grounds to believe Modi will fail to surrender and that his attempt to try and seek citizenship of Vanuatu showed he was trying to move away from India at an important time.

Modi, who fled India in January 2018, is now living in the UK on an 'investor visa at an apartment in London’s West End.

Earlier, on March 9, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it had requested Modi’s extradition but did not receive any response from the UK authorities. Modi and family left the country in January last year, much before the PNB scam was unearthed.