The UK has no intention of becoming a place for those wanting to evade justice to hide, said British Security Secretary Tom Tugendhat, while India continues to press for the extradition of billionaire fugitives Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi.

Tugendhat said, without citing specific cases, that legal procedures had to be followed in extradition matters.

“Both of us (UK and India) have legal procedures to go through. But the UK Government is making it absolutely clear that we have no intention of becoming a place for those who want to evade justice to hide,” he told PTI in an interview.

Tugendhat was in India on August 10-12 for a three-day visit, mainly to attend the G20 anti-corruption ministerial meeting in Kolkata.

In Delhi he held talks with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The UK Security Secretary was responding to a question about India’s ongoing call for the extradition of a number of white-collar criminals, including Mallya and Nirav Modi, who live in the UK.

Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamond dealer, wanted to stand trial in India on fraud and money laundering allegations.

The 52-year-old businessman lost his lawsuit in Britain’s highest court against extradition to India in the estimated $2 billion Punjab National Bank loan fraud case last year.

But his case is now “statute-barred,” suggesting further pending litigation.

Mallya, who fled to the UK in March 2016, is wanted in India over a 9,000 crore rupee loan from several banks to Kingfisher Airlines.

When asked about his talks with NSA Doval, the UK security secretary declined to give details but did point out that the extensive bilateral cooperation is focused on the security of the two nations and the prosperity of citizens.

“We are talking about the security of our two nations and the prosperity of our citizens, their ability to conduct their business at home and abroad,” he said.

“But we also talk about the challenges we face and we’ve both made it clear in different ways that China’s challenge is one we both face and we’ve seen incidents on your northern border but we’ve also.” Incidents experienced. “We’ve seen the way technology has changed and the way we need to address it as areas where we need more collaboration,” he said.

Tugendhat highlighted how India and UK are collaborating on new technologies related to artificial intelligence (AI).

“We see today that India is not only a hub of Indian AI, but also a hub of British AI,” he said.

“There are many companies whose data points and data sources are located here, often in Bangalore, and are using the exceptional technical skills of Indian AI experts to analyze data and improve the productivity of their companies,” he added.

“It’s a fantastic advantage for both the UK and of course India. Therefore, ensuring that we are able to do so, protect our interests and develop these technologies is crucial for our future together.” Tugendhat noted.

India-Britain ties were elevated to a full strategic partnership during the virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then-British counterpart Boris Johnson in May 2021.

At the summit, both sides adopted a 10-year roadmap to strengthen ties in key areas including trade and economy, defense and security, climate change and people-to-people relations.