Lalit Modi set to lose Vanuatu passport, PM Jotham Napat calls it bid to avoid extration to Indi

Days after Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi applied to surrender his Indian passport at the Indian High Commission in London, Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat on Monday ordered the Citizenship Commission to cancel Modi’s Vanuatu passport.

Napat accused the fugitive businessman of using the South Pacific Island nation’s citizenship to evade extradition.

The crackdown came after recent international media reports revealed that the former IPL chief is wanted by Indian law enforcement for his alleged involvement in embezzling crores of rupees during his tenure at the helm of the league.

“I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to immediately begin proceedings to cancel Lalit Modi’s Vanuatu passport,” PM Napat said in an official statement.

While Lalit Modi’s application underwent standard background checks, including Interpol screenings, which did not reveal any criminal convictions at the time, recent reports have highlighted that Interpol had twice rejected India’s requests to issue an alert notice against him due to insufficient judicial evidence.

Such an alert, if approved, would have automatically led to the rejection of the businessman’s citizenship application.

“I have been made aware in the past 24 hours that Interpol twice rejected Indian authorities’ requests to issue an alert notice on Mr Lalit Modi due to lack of substantive judicial evidence. Any such alert would have triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi’s citizenship application,” the statement read.

Furthermore, PM Napat also pointed out that Vanuatu citizenship is a privilege, not a right, and applicants must seek it for legitimate reasons. “None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Lalit Modi’s intention,” he stated.

The fugitive businessman submitted an application to surrender his Indian passport on March 7, a move later confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

“He has made an application for surrendering his passport in the high commission of India, London. The same will be examined in light of extant rules and procedures. We are also given to understand that he has acquired citizenship of Vanuatu. We continue to pursue the case against him as required under law” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.