Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has ordered the cancellation of the passport issued to former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi, alleging that he sought citizenship to evade extradition. The directive follows reports in international media highlighting Modi’s status as a fugitive wanted by Indian authorities for alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as IPL chairman.

In an official statement, the Republic of Vanuatu declared, “The Prime Minister has instructed the Citizenship Commission to revoke Lalit Modi’s Vanuatu passport following recent media disclosures.”

The statement further noted that Interpol had twice rejected India’s request for an alert notice against Modi due to a lack of sufficient judicial evidence. It clarified that had such an alert been issued, Modi’s citizenship application would have been automatically denied.

PM Napat stressed that “holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right,” and that citizenship must be sought for “legitimate reasons,” excluding attempts to avoid extradition.

Modi, a former vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is facing allegations of bid-rigging, money laundering, and violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. He left India in 2010 amid investigations into unauthorized financial transactions and has since been residing in London.

Sources suggest that Neeta Bhushan, India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand and several island nations, played a key role in securing the revocation of Modi’s Vanuatu passport.

On March 7, Modi submitted an application to surrender his Indian passport at the Indian High Commission in London, a move later confirmed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “The application will be reviewed as per existing rules and procedures. We are aware that he has obtained Vanuatu citizenship and continue to pursue the case against him in accordance with the law.”