Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has taken decisive action to revoke the citizenship of former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi. The move comes after revelations that Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) had twice rejected India’s request for an alert notice against him due to a lack of substantive judicial evidence.

Why is Vanuatu canceling Lalit Modi’s passport?

In a statement, PM Napat assured that he has instructed the Citizenship Commission to immediately initiate the process of canceling Modi's passport. Though normal background checks—Interpol screenings included—have shown no criminal convictions at the time of application, new evidence has surfaced.

“I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to immediately begin proceedings to cancel Mr. Modi's Vanuatu passport,” Napat stated.

According to the Prime Minister, if Interpol had issued an alert against Modi, his citizenship application would have been automatically rejected. However, since Interpol twice turned down India's requests due to insufficient judicial evidence, Modi was able to obtain Vanuatu citizenship.

Concerns over Modi’s intentions

PM Napat emphasized that holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, and that applicants must provide genuine reasons for seeking 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,” Napat added.

The Prime Minister's tough stance comes amid growing scrutiny by the nation of its Citizenship by Investment Programme.

Republic of Vanuatu

Tighter vigilance for citizenship applications

In recent years, Vanuatu has enhanced its due diligence procedure for citizenship applications, subjecting them to intensive examination by its financial intelligence unit. The new system now entails triple-agency checks, such as Interpol verification, to guarantee that only qualified individuals receive citizenship.

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