Nirav Modi’s Paul Manafort moment: Ostrich leather jackets are the new orange prison overalls for some jailbirds

Fugitive billionaire diamond dealer Nirav Modi should really have thought twice before appearing on a London street last week wearing guilt on his sleeve, or, more precisely, his jacket. His team definitely should have informed him that ultra-expensive ostrich skin jackets are the new orange prison overalls for a certain class of would-be jailbirds.

At the very least, his assistants should have kept track of the fact that Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager (who has just been convicted and sentenced for millions of dollars of tax fraud) is the proud owner — and wearer — of a $15,000 ostrich leather jacket and a $9,500 ostrich waistcoat, among other clothing made of exotic skins.

Appropriately, ostrich leather ranks among the world’s ‘most wanted’, with thModi’s incriminating Paul Manafort moment: Ostrich leather jackets are the new orange prison overalls for some jailbirdse connotation depending on whether it’s Peta or some high-rollers’ assessment. And Modi’s Manafort moment could well be interpreted as a dead giveaway of his financial situation and propensities.

Moreover, the UK government’s apparent ignorance of his new innings in London as a diamond merchant will, inevitably, draw comparisons with the giant South African bird’s alleged tendency to stick its head in the sand. After Modi’s ‘outing’, of course, the Indian government’s priority should be to ensure he remains — true to another attribute of the bird — flightless.