The Ministry of External Affairs had recently confirmed that Lalit Modi filed an application to surrender his Indian passport.
Days after Lalit Modi applied to surrender his Indian passport, the Vanuatu government on Monday directed the Citizenship Commission to cancel passport issued to Indian Premier League (IPL) founder, who has been under probe by various agencies for financial irregularities.
PTI quoted Prime Minister of Vanuatu Jotham Napat as saying instructions have been for immediate cancellation. Napat also accused Modi of using the South Pacific Island nation's citizenship to evade extradition.
"I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to immediately begin proceedings to cancel Mr. Modi라이브 바카라 Vanuatu passport. I have been made aware 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. Modi라이브 바카라 citizenship application," said a statement released by the Vanuatu government, as reported by PTI.
"None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Mr. Modi라이브 바카라 intention," the statement further added.
The Ministry of External Affairs had recently confirmed that Lalit Modi filed an application to surrender his Indian passport.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday, "Lalit Modi 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," he stated as quoted by ANI.
Vanuatu has a population of around 3 lakh and also known for its lucrative Golden passport programme through which wealthy individuals can buy its citizenship and obtain a passport by paying USD 150,000(1.3 crore).
What makes it attractive is that it requires very few documents and these can be provided online as well. The process takes only a month and one can obtain a passport without even setting foot in the country.
According to reports, the biggest advantage of the Vanuatu passports is that it allows visa-free entry to over 107 countries, including the UK and European countries.
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Lalit Modi, the former chairman of the IPL and its chief architect, is under investigation by multiple agencies in connection with foreign exchange violations and the Rs 425 crore TV rights deal for the 2009 IPL with World Sports Group.
After attending questioning once with Income Tax and ED officials in Mumbai in connection with cases related to foreign exchange violations, he fled to the UK in May 2010.
In 2008, Modi is believed to be the man behind the launch of the IPL.
In 2009, when the IPL had to be shifted to South Africa after the general elections in India, Modi proved that the league's value would hold big value outside India as well.
Soon after the IPL 2010 final, the BCCI suspended Modi on charges of misconduct, indiscipline, and financial irregularities in association with the two rigging bids over the two new franchises, which were in Pune and Kochi.
The BCCI also launched an investigation against Modi and banned him for life in 2013 after a committee found him guilty of these charges.