Vanuatu govt to cancel Lalit Modi’s passport as he seeks to give up Indian citizenship

The Vanuatu government has decided to cancel the passport issued to Lalit Modi, founder and first chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), now a fugitive businessman in London. They said that attempts to escape extradition do not qualify as a legitimate reason to get citizenship in the South Pacific Ocean nation.

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

Jotham Napat said, "While all standard background checks, including Interpol screenings, conducted during his application showed no criminal convictions, 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 lack of substantive judicial evidence. Any such alert would have triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi's citizenship application."

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He placed emphasis on the fact that a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, and legitimate reasons are required to seek citizenship.

"None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Mr Modi's intention," said Vanuatu’s prime minister.

Wanted in India

Lalit Modi was reported to have filed an application with the Indian High Commission in London to surrender his Indian citizenship and passport.

The billionaire fugitive is wanted in India for alleged financial irregularities.

Modi left the country in 2010 and has been living in London since then. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed the news on Friday (March 7).

Citizenship-by-Investment

Vanuatu, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, has been known for its Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) programme.

A CBI programme allows investors to gain citizenship by making economic contributions, including in real estate, government bonds, or business ventures. The benefits of CBI include visa-free travel, business opportunities, and tax savings.

Vanuatu’s CBI programme allows foreigners to obtain citizenship in exchange for financial investments, typically around USD1,50,000. Passports provide a major source of government revenue, according to the BBC. Vanuatu passport-holders can travel to 56 countries visa-free, making the CBI programme a very attractive scheme.

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The Vanuatu government has taken more efforts to verify the backgrounds of people seeking the citizenship by investment programme over the past four years. This verification process includes triple-agency checks, including Interpol verification.

Due to more stringent checks, the PM's office said it has resulted in a marked increase in applications that failed the enhanced scrutiny by the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit.

The Vanuatu archipelago

Vanuatu is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. Only 65 of the 83 islands that make up this archipelago are inhabited. The population as of 2023 was 3.2 lakh citizens.

The island nation lies east of Australia and to the north of New Zealand. It can also be said to be the midway point between Australia and Fiji. Its capital, Port Vila, is its largest city and is located on Efate Island.

The national language of this republic is Bislama - a Creole language. It is one of the official languages, along with English and French.

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Its economy is based on tourism, fishing, agriculture, and offshore financial services. Kava exports play a significant role in the economy. VAT, tourism, and agricultural export make up the bulk of the national income, as the island nation does not have income tax, withholding tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, or exchange control.

Most of the diet of around 90 per cent of its population is fish. Apart from fish, locally-grown and harvested root vegetables such as yam, taro, and sweet potatoes also make up their diet.

This island nation is home to several active volcanoes including Mount Yasur, one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes. Volcanic activity is a regular occurrence, with several underwater volcanoes around the archipelago.