Lalit Modi is allegedly fleeing justice to avoid prosecution in India for embezzlement and financial misconduct during his tenure as IPL chairman.
Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has had his Vanuatu passport cancelled following growing concerns about his attempts to evade extradition to India. The decision, made by Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat, comes after revelations that Modi, who has been a fugitive since 2010, is wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies in connection with allegations of embezzling crores of rupees during his tenure as the IPL’s top official.
Modi, who has been living in London since he left India in 2010, applied to the Indian High Commission in London earlier this month to surrender his Indian passport. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the application. Modi, who was already in possession of Vanuatu citizenship, had been under scrutiny due to his alleged financial misconduct.
Prime Minister Jotham Napat, in response to international media reports about Modi’s fugitive status, ordered the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission to cancel the passport issued to the former IPL boss. In an official statement, Napat emphasised that holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege and that applicants must seek citizenship for legitimate reasons. He added that Modi’s apparent intention to avoid extradition was not a legitimate reason for citizenship.
“I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to immediately begin proceedings to cancel Mr. Modi’s Vanuatu passport,” Napat said in a statement. He said that while background checks showed no criminal convictions, he was recently informed that Interpol had rejected Indian requests for an alert on Lalit Modi due to insufficient evidence, which would have led to the rejection of his citizenship application.
PM Napat stated that in recent years, the Vanuatu government has strengthened its due diligence process for the citizenship by investment program, leading to more applications failing the enhanced scrutiny conducted by the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit.
The cancellation came after reports that Indian authorities had twice approached Interpol to issue a notice for Modi, but both requests were rejected due to a lack of substantive judicial evidence. This legal complication had raised questions about whether Modi was using his Vanuatu citizenship as a shield against extradition to India.
The cancellation of Modi’s passport has added to the ongoing legal and diplomatic tensions surrounding his fugitive status. Authorities in India are continuing their efforts to pursue legal action against Modi, with a focus on his alleged involvement in IPL-related financial crimes.