Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has directed the Citizenship Commission to revoke Lalit Modi’s passport citing concerns over his motives for acquiring citizenship. The decision comes after Interpol twice rejected India’s request for an alert notice citing insufficient evidence.
PM Napat stated that while background checks initially showed no criminal convictions he was recently informed that an Interpol alert would have led to an automatic rejection of Modi’s citizenship.
He said in a statement “In the past 24 hours, I have been made aware that Interpol twice rejected Indian authorities’ requests due to a lack of substantive judicial evidence”.
The Prime Minister emphasized that a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, and should not be used to evade extradition.
“None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which recent facts indicate was Mr. Modi’s intention,” he added.
In recent years, Vanuatu has strengthened its citizenship-by-investment programme increasing due diligence and financial intelligence checks. The triple agency verification process, including Interpol screenings has led to a higher rejection rate for applicants.
Modi the former Indian Premier League chairman has been living abroad since facing corruption allegations in India. With Vanuatu now set to revoke his passport, his legal and diplomatic options could narrow further.
