To
The Honorable Jotham Napat
Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu
Office of the Prime Minister PMB 059 Port Vila, Vanuatu
Subject: Urgent Request for Cancellation of Citizenship Granted to Hari Shankar Tibrewal under the Citizenship by Investment Program, Disclosure of His Criminal Activities, and Extradition to India for Justice
Dear Honorable Prime Minister Jotham Napat and Members of the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission,
I am writing to you on behalf of Citizens for Global Justice and Accountability, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating transnational financial crimes, money laundering, and the misuse of international financial systems. As a collective of legal experts, former law enforcement officers, and concerned citizens from India and beyond, we have closely monitored the implications of citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programs worldwide, particularly their unintended role in shielding economic offenders from accountability.
Today, we bring to your urgent attention a grave matter concerning one such individual: Hari Shankar Tibrewal, a Dubai-based hawala operator (as said by ED) who has allegedly obtained Vanuatu citizenship through your esteemed nation’s CBI scheme. We implore you to initiate immediate proceedings for the revocation of his citizenship, his arrest, and his extradition to India, where he faces serious charges of money laundering and organized crime.
This letter is not merely a plea for justice in a single case but a candid dialogue between two nations committed to the rule of law and international cooperation. Vanuatu, with its breathtaking landscapes, resilient communities, and pivotal role in Pacific diplomacy, deserves a reputation untainted by association with global fugitives. By acting decisively on this matter, your government can reaffirm Vanuatu’s standing as a responsible member of the international community, thereby safeguarding its diplomatic, economic, and security interests. We outline below the details of Tibrewal’s criminal enterprise, his evasion tactics, the broader reputational risks to Vanuatu, and our specific requests for collaborative action.
The Mahadev Betting App Scam: A Monumental Fraud Orchestrated with Tibrewal’s Complicity
At the heart of this crisis lies the Mahadev Betting App (MOB), one of the largest illegal online gambling syndicates in India’s history, with estimated proceeds of crime exceeding ₹6,000 crore (approximately USD 720 million). Launched around 2018 by childhood friends Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Chhattisgarh, India, the app masqueraded as a legitimate wagering platform for sports, casino games, and live events.
In reality, it operated as a pyramid-like franchise network, ensnaring over 10 million users—many from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds—through addictive betting mechanics and aggressive recruitment of sub-agents. Daily transactions during peak events, such as the 2023 Cricket World Cup, surged to ₹1,000 crore, with the syndicate skimming 70% of user losses as illicit profit.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India, in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has filed four chargesheets since 2023, detailing how the app evaded taxes, bribed officials, and laundered funds through offshore channels. Assets worth over ₹2,295 crore have been attached, including cash, luxury properties, and manipulated securities. The scam’s tentacles extend to stock market manipulations, where betting proceeds were infused into listed companies like Gensol Engineering, Vikas Ecotech, and even shares linked to EaseMyTrip, causing market distortions and investor losses in the billions.
Hari Shankar Tibrewal, aged 45 and hailing from Kolkata, emerges as a pivotal architect of this laundering machinery. Operating from Dubai under aliases like “Hari Bhai,” Tibrewal leveraged his established hawala network—specializing in undeclared remittances via gems and textiles—to repatriate and “clean” Mahadev’s UAE-held funds.
As Accused in the ED’s chargesheet (March 2024), he is credited with laundering at least ₹1,500 crore through sophisticated “ramp-and-dump” schemes. For instance, via his Dubai entity “Green Frontier,” Tibrewal acquired pre-IPO stakes in Gensol Engineering, artificially inflating its shares by 300% before offloading them, netting ₹400 crore in profits and triggering a 92% stock crash upon ED revelations in April 2025. Similar tactics targeted Vikas Ecotech, where raids uncovered incriminating documents linking Tibrewal to ₹388 crore in attachments.
Tibrewal’s methods were ingenious yet insidious: Betting winnings from Dubai casinos were layered as “trade credits” through Kolkata shell companies, then routed via Mauritius-based Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) into Indian equities. This not only legitimized illicit gains but also corrupted retail investors, eroding trust in India’s financial markets. The ED’s raids in March 2024 alone froze ₹580 crore in his hawala-linked securities, with ledgers revealing over 50 manipulated trades. Associates like Girish Talreja and Suraj Chokhani, arrested in January 2024, have confessed to Tibrewal’s oversight of these operations, underscoring his indispensable role.
Alleged Connections to International Criminals and Terrorists, Including Dawood Ibrahim
What elevates Tibrewal’s case from financial fraud to a national security threat are his alleged ties to transnational criminal networks, most alarmingly the D-Company syndicate led by India’s most wanted fugitive, Dawood Ibrahim. While direct indictments remain circumstantial, ED intelligence and forensic audits paint a damning picture of overlap in hawala routes, betting mirrors, and terror financing.
Dawood’s Karachi-based empire has long dominated South Asian gambling, from Mumbai bookies to Dubai casinos, generating funds for narco-terrorism. The Mahadev syndicate’s Pakistani variant, Kheloyar—a mirror app launched in 2022— was co-developed with Mushtaqeem Ibrahim Kaskar, Dawood’s brother. This app sponsored Indo-Pak T20 series and allegedly laundered ₹200 crore through D-Company channels to finance operations in Pakistan, including match-fixing and extremist activities. Chandrakar reportedly met Mushtaqeem in Dubai, using shared hawala conduits for cross-border flows.
Tibrewal’s Dubai nexus intersects these paths profoundly. His hawala firm, active since 2010, serviced Indian betting rings intertwined with D-Company’s “G-9” cartel, which controls 60% of UAE-India remittances. A 2024 ED note flags Tibrewal’s Kolkata office handling “D-batch” transfers—euphemisms for Dawood-linked funds—mirroring routes used in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
SkyExchange, Tibrewal’s Mahadev clone generating ₹50 crore monthly, shared servers with Kheloyar, per digital forensics, indicating technological collusion. Moreover, his gems trade—a D-Company staple—funneled Mahadev cash via Antwerp diamonds, echoing Dawood’s post-1993 pivots to legitimate fronts.
Talreja’s confessions detail “Pakistan routing” commissions, implicating Tibrewal in 10% cuts from terror-adjacent flows. The Maharashtra SIT’s 2025 summons to Tibrewal explicitly probes these D-links, including a ₹50 crore transfer to a Karachi entity. Such associations transform Tibrewal from a mere launderer into a facilitator of global threats, endangering not just India but allies like the United States and Australia, who view D-Company as a priority target under UN sanctions.
Tibrewal’s Evasion: Renunciation of Indian Citizenship and Absconding from Indian Authorities
Facing mounting pressure—ED summons in July 2025, asset freezes exceeding ₹580 crore, and SEBI probes into 15 manipulated stocks—Tibrewal executed a calculated flight. In late November 2025, he renounced his Indian citizenship and acquired a Vanuatu passport through the Capital Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP), your CBI program. Reports from credible Indian outlets, including Inventiva (November 2025), confirm he paid approximately USD 130,000 via a Phuket-based agent, routing funds through a Mauritian shell to obscure origins. This swift acquisition—processed in under 30 days—allowed him to vanish from Dubai surveillance, resurfacing in leaks as a “Vanuatu citizen” shielded from extradition.
Tibrewal now absconds from the ED and CBI, who have issued Look-Out Circulars and Interpol notices. Without Vanuatu’s passport, he would face immediate arrest upon re-entry to India. Instead, he exploits jurisdictional silos, continuing operations from Pacific obscurity, potentially accessing Singapore banks for fresh laundering. This mirrors the plights of Chandrakar and Uppal, fellow Mahadev promoters and Vanuatu citizens arrested in Dubai but bailed and untraceable since 2023.
The Reputational Peril: Tarnishing Vanuatu’s Luminous Image Through Lax Vetting
Vanuatu, a paradise of azure lagoons, vibrant cultures, and ecological wonders, has long symbolized resilience and harmony in the Pacific. Yet, the unchecked issuance of CBI passports to figures like Tibrewal risks eclipsing this beauty with infamy. Your program’s noble intent—to fund development amid climate vulnerabilities and post-COVID recovery—has generated vital revenue (USD 100-120 million annually, or 10-40% of GDP). However, expedited processes with minimal residency or interviews, coupled with agent-driven applications from high-risk hubs like Dubai and Hong Kong, invite exploitation.
Tibrewal’s case exemplifies the peril: No robust background checks flagged his ED chargesheets or hawala red flags, despite FATF warnings on CBI money-laundering risks. This echoes scandals like the 2025 Phuket agent busts for falsified documents and the revocation of 21 citizenships amid greylisting pressures. Granting haven to economic offenders without scrutiny not only contravenes Vanuatu’s commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption but erodes public trust in your transparent governance.
Vanuatu’s Emerging Infamy as a Global Safe Haven for Criminals
Internationally, Vanuatu’s CBI is increasingly synonymous with sanctuary for the underworld. High-profile fugitives like former IPL chief Lalit Modi—whose citizenship was revoked in March 2025 amid extradition concerns—highlight the pattern. Others include Lebanese banker Khalil Fadel (USD 20 million embezzlement) and Russian oligarchs evading Ukraine sanctions.
A 2024 LSE study documents over 200 offender cases across CBI programs, enabling USD 1 trillion in hidden assets yearly. Vanuatu, once a “win-win” model, now faces EU visa-free access suspension (since 2022, formalized December 2024) due to security fears, slashing applicant volumes by 40% and branding your passports as “ghost visas.”
This stigma positions Vanuatu as a haven for criminals, gangsters, terrorists, and economic offenders—labels antithetical to your anti-crime stance. D-Company links via Tibrewal amplify risks, potentially drawing UN scrutiny and associating Vanuatu with narco-terror financing.
Broader Repercussions: Strained International Ties and Surging Global Crime
Unchecked CBI flows ripple outward, jeopardizing Vanuatu’s diplomacy. The EU’s 2024 revocation of visa waivers, citing migration and security threats, isolates your citizens from Schengen travel. FATF greylisting in 2022 mandates revocations, but non-compliance could trigger blacklisting, freezing aid from Australia (your largest donor) and the Pacific Islands Forum. India, a key partner in climate finance and trade (bilateral turnover USD 500 million in 2024), may reconsider support—witness MEA’s 2025 blacklisting of Vanuatu agents—straining ties vital for your Blue Pacific agenda.
Domestically, this influx exacerbates crime: Laundered funds fuel local corruption, while fugitives import networks, heightening risks of cyber fraud and extremism. Globally, empowered offenders like Tibrewal perpetuate scams, increasing burdens on nations like India (UPI frauds up 40% post-Mahadev) and eroding faith in international finance.
Our Humble Requests: Revocation, Arrest, and Extradition
In light of the foregoing, we respectfully urge the following actions:
- Immediate Cancellation of Hari Shankar Tibrewal’s Citizenship: Invoke your Citizenship Commission’s verification procedures (as per December 2024 Press Release) to revoke his passport for non-compliance with due diligence and criminal misrepresentation. Precedents like Modi’s revocation affirm your authority and commitment to integrity.
- Arrest of Tibrewal and Associates: Coordinate with local law enforcement to detain Tibrewal and linked entities (e.g., his Mauritian shells) pending extradition.
- Extradition to India: Though no formal treaty exists, we propose ad-hoc cooperation under mutual legal assistance frameworks. India’s Supreme Court has urged such pursuits; your intervention could pioneer Pacific-Indian judicial bridges, enhancing Vanuatu’s global stature.
We stand ready to furnish ED chargesheets, Interpol dossiers, and witness testimonies. A joint task force could expedite this, fostering enduring bilateral trust.
Honorable Prime Minister, Vanuatu’s legacy is one of moral fortitude—from cyclone recoveries to climate advocacy. By reclaiming your CBI’s sanctity, you protect this heritage. We await your affirmative response and propose a virtual dialogue at your earliest convenience.
With deepest respect and solidarity,
A Citizen of India
