A few days after former Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi applied to surrender his Indian passport at the Indian High Commission in London, Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat ordered the Citizenship Commission on Monday to revoke Modi’s Vanuatu passport. He stated that Modi was trying to evade extradition.

This decision follows recent international media reports revealing that Indian law enforcement agencies are seeking Modi over allegations of embezzling crores of rupees during his tenure as the head of the IPL.

An official statement from the Republic of Vanuatu was recently released: "I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to cancel the Vanuatu passport issued to Mr 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 Mr Lalit Modi due to lack of substantive judicial evidence. Any such alert would have triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi’s citizenship application," it stated. The release further noted that the “Prime Minister 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" (sic), it said.

Lalit Modi, a former vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), faces allegations of bid-rigging, money laundering and violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. He left India in 2010 while being investigated for alleged financial irregularities, including unauthorised fund transfers. Sources revealed that Neeta Bhushan, India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand and several island nations, played a critical role in cancelling Lalit Modi’s Vanuatu passport.

On March 7, Modi applied to surrender his Indian passport, which was later confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He is believed to reside in London and has now obtained citizenship of Vanuatu, a South Pacific Island nation.

“He has made an application for surrendering his passport in the high commission of India, London," Randhir Jaiswal, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, stated.

“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 expressed.