New Delhi: Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi faces fresh trouble as the Vanuatu government moves to cancel his passport, stating that evading extradition is not a valid reason for obtaining citizenship in the island nation.
The billionaire fugitive, wanted in India for alleged financial irregularities, had earlier applied to surrender his Indian passport at the country’s High Commission in London.
Vanuatu Moves to Revoke Lalit Modi’s Passport Over Extradition Concerns
Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has directed the country’s Citizenship Commission to revoke the passport issued to Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi, citing “recent revelations in international media,” his office announced.
“While all standard background checks, including Interpol screenings, showed no criminal convictions during his application, I have been informed in the past 24 hours that Interpol twice rejected India’s requests for an alert notice on Mr. Modi due to a lack of substantive judicial evidence. Had such an alert been issued, his citizenship application would have been automatically denied,” Prime Minister Napat stated.
Emphasizing that holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, Napat underscored that citizenship must be sought for legitimate reasons. “None of those reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which recent findings clearly indicate was Mr. Modi’s intention,” he added.
The statement further highlighted that Vanuatu has significantly strengthened due diligence in its citizenship-by-investment program over the past four years, leading to increased application rejections under enhanced scrutiny by the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit. “The improved process includes triple-agency checks, including Interpol verification,” it noted.
Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Lalit Modi has applied to surrender his Indian passport at the High Commission in London. “His application will be examined as per existing rules and procedures,” said ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “We understand he has acquired Vanuatu citizenship, but we continue to pursue the case against him as per the law.”
Lalit Modi, who left India in 2010, is wanted in connection with allegations of financial irregularities amounting to crores during his tenure as IPL commissioner.
