“Intention To…”: Fresh Trouble For Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is facing new trouble as the government of Vanuatu has decided to revoke his passport. The government stated that seeking citizenship in the South Pacific nation to avoid extradition does not constitute a valid reason for obtaining it.

Indian authorities want the billionaire fugitive for alleged financial irregularities. Earlier, Lalit Modi filed an application with the Indian High Commission in London to surrender his Indian passport.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has asked the country’s Citizenship Commission to cancel the passport issued to Lalit Modi “following recent revelations in international media”, his office said.

Also read: ICC Champions Trophy: Iyer & Rahul Shine in India’s Triumph

Lalit Modi’s Citizenship Under Scrutiny: Vanuatu PM Cites Interpol Rejections

While conducting his application, authorities found no criminal convictions in all standard background checks, including Interpol screenings. However, I have learned in the past 24 hours that Interpol twice rejected Indian authorities’ requests to issue an alert notice on Mr. Modi due to a lack of substantive judicial evidence. Any such alert would have triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi’s citizenship application,” Prime Minister Napat said.

He emphasised that holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, and applicants must seek citizenship for legitimate reasons.

“None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Mr Modi’s intention,” he added.

The statement added that the Vanuatu government has significantly strengthened the due diligence aspect of its citizenship by investment Programme over the past four years. This, the Prime Minister’s office said, has resulted in a marked increase in applications failing the enhanced scrutiny undertaken by the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit. “The improved process implemented several years ago includes triple-agency checks, including Interpol verification,” it said.

The Ministry of External Affairs recently confirmed that Lalit Modi filed an application to surrender his Indian passport. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that he has applied to surrender his passport at the High Commission of India in London. Authorities will examine the application in light of existing rules and procedures. It is also understood that citizenship of Vanuatu has been acquired by him. We continue to pursue the case against him as required under law,” he said.

Lalit Modi left India in 2010.He is being sought in India in connection with allegations that crores were embezzled during his stint as IPL commissioner.

Also read: Priyanka Chopra Jonas sells four flats in Mumbai worth Rs 16 crore