Bad news for Lalit Modi as Vanuatu PM orders cancellation of his passport due to…, where will he go now?

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

Port Vila: In fresh trouble for fugitive businessman and Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi, the Vanuatu Government has cancelled the passport issued to him. Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat instructed the Citizenship Commission to cancel Modi’s passport, saying he is attempting to avoid extradition. Last Friday, Lalit Modi submitted an application to the Indian High Commission in London to surrender his passport. He is reported to have obtained citizenship from Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific. He fled from India in 2010 and is believed to have been residing in London since then.

The official press release issued by **the Vanuatu Prime Minister’s office said, “I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to cancel the Vanuatu passport issued to Lalit Modi following recent revelations in international media.”

“I have been made aware in the past 24 hours that Interpol twice rejected Indian authorities’ requests to issue an alert notice on 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 said.

The release further said that PM Napat noted that possessing the 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 Modi’s intension,” the statement said.

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

It is to be noted that, Lalit Modi is most wanted in India for financial irregularities. He is wanted in the country over an alleged involvement in the embezzlement of crores during his stint as IPL commissioner.

(with PTI inputs)