In a blow to Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi, the Vanuatu government has cancelled his citizenship two days after the fugitive businessman acquired it. Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat accused the former IPL commissioner of using the Island nation's citizenship to escape arrest and extradition.
Mr Napat's instruction to the Citizenship Commission to cancel Lalit Modi's Vanuatu passport came after Indian authorities requested an Interpol (International Criminal Police Organisation) alert against the businessman, but it was rejected due to the lack of sufficient evidence.
The Vanuatu PM also clarified that applications must contain a genuine reason for seeking citizenship and not as a means to evade extradition. None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Mr Modi's intention, he added.
Earlier, Vanuatu also rejected another fugitive businessman, Nirav Modi's citizenship application. He attempted to obtain a Vanuatu passport nearly three months before the Rs 13,600-crore money laundering scandal in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) came to light.
Vanuatu's citizenship rules
Under the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, Vanuatu has listed strict rules and guidelines for granting citizenship.
- People applying for Vanuatu citizenship must not have criminal records, pending charges, or any ongoing investigations under their name. They also have to go through background checks, including Interpol screenings, and if they have issued a red notice, then the application is automatically rejected.
- The country doesn't give citizenship to fugitives to escape extradition. It doesn't want to become a safe haven for criminals.
- Applicants are also required to show their financial condition. Their application will be disqualified if linked to fraud, tax evasion, or financial crimes.
- Under its "golden passport" scheme, Vanuatu gives citizenship for Rs 13 crore, making it one of the cheapest citizenships.
- Vanuatu takes just 30 to 60 days to process the citizenship application and its passport is the 51st strongest among the 199 countries, per the Henley Passport Index. Vanuatu gives passport holders visa-free entry to 133 countries.
