No Place To Hide! Lalit Modi’s Great Escape To Vanuatu Halted As Passport Revoked. India Must Act Now!

Lalit Modi, the former vice president of the BCCI has long been on the run, accused of bid rigging, money laundering, and violations of FEMA, Foreign Exchange Management Act. He left India in 2010 and since ha been under a cloud of financial misconduct allegations, including unauthorized fund transfers.

He sought refuge in London, leveraging legal loopholes and foreign citizenship to evade extradition. However, his latest safe haven, Vanuatu, has just shut its doors on him, dealing a significant blow to his escape strategy.

Vanuatu Cancels Lalit Modi’s Passport. What Happened Here?

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat has ordered the immediate cancellation of Lalit Modi’s passport, stating that his country’s citizenship “cannot be used to avoid extradition.” This decision came after revelations in international media regarding Modi’s fugitive status.

The Citizenship Commission of Vanuatu has now been directed to begin proceedings against him, signaling that Modi’s attempt to secure a foreign identity has backfired spectacularly.

While Modi’s initial background checks, including Interpol screenings, didn’t show any criminal convictions, Napat revealed that Interpol had twice rejected India’s request to issue an alert notice against him due to insufficient judicial evidence.

That, however, didn’t stop Vanuatu from revoking his citizenship once they got wind of his fugitive status.

The Modus Operandi. Why Vanuatu?

Lalit Modi’s choice of Vanuatu was strategic. The island nation offers a Citizenship-by-Investment program (popularly called a ‘golden passport’ scheme), which allows individuals to obtain citizenship in exchange for financial investment. Many fugitives use such programs to shield themselves from extradition by renouncing their original citizenship and adopting a new national identity.

This was also the strategy used by another Indian fugitive, Mehul Choksi, who acquired citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda to avoid extradition. However, unlike Choksi, whose extradition attempts have hit roadblocks, Modi’s plan crumbled quickly as Vanuatu revoked his passport before he could cement his new identity.

India’s Diplomatic Pressure at Play?

While Vanuatu’s official stance is that it was unaware of Modi’s fugitive status, it is highly likely that India played a role in ensuring his citizenship was revoked. India and Vanuatu share diplomatic ties under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation, ITEC program, which includes assistance in healthcare, education, and infrastructure development. Given this partnership, it is plausible that India leveraged its influence to push for action against Modi.

The Ministry of External Affairs, MEA has a history of working behind the scenes with quiet yet decisive diplomacy. A simple phone call from New Delhi could have been all it took for Vanuatu to reconsider its association with Modi. The country, dependent on international goodwill and Indian support, would not risk tarnishing its reputation by harboring a fugitive.

Will India Finally Get Lalit Modi Back?

Now that Modi is stateless, this presents a golden opportunity for Indian authorities. Without citizenship protection, he is vulnerable to legal action, and India can ramp up efforts to extradite him.

As news of Modi’s Vanuatu citizenship spread, India’s Ministry of External Affairs  confirmed that the former IPL boss had applied to surrender his Indian passport in London. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “We continue to pursue the case against him as required under law.”

For years, Indian authorities have been after Modi over allegations of financial misconduct and embezzlement of crores during his IPL days. 

The best course of action for Indian agencies is to exert pressure on the UK government, where Modi has been residing for years. The British legal system has long been a haven for Indian economic offenders, including Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. However, with the tide turning against fugitives and a renewed push for extradition treaties, Lalit Modi’s days of escaping justice could just be numbered.

Lalit Modi Flaunts Island Life Even After Citizenship Snub

Even after the island nation’s Prime Minister, Jotham Napat, ordered the cancellation of his passport, Modi still found time to post a picturesque update, raving about the country’s beauty.

“Vanuatu is a beautiful country. You must put it on your bucket list. Away from all the pollution and noise. Truly a heavenly country,” he wrote on X, making it sound more like a travel blogger’s pitch than an escape route gone wrong.

Not Just Lalit Modi But Yet Another Fugitive – Nirav Modi 

As it turns out, Lalit Modi isn’t the only fugitive who tried to secure a safe haven in Vanuatu. Before him, diamond trader Nirav Modi also attempted to get citizenship in the Pacific island nation, but was shown the door.

So, what is the deal with Vanuatu’s citizenship program, and why is it suddenly getting picky about who gets a passport? 

Vanuatu offers a Citizenship by Investment or CBI program, where foreigners can essentially buy a passport by making a non-refundable donation or investment. The price is a relatively affordable $155,000 (around ₹1.3 crore) for a single applicant.

Back in November 2017, just months before the ₹13,600 crore Punjab National Bank, PNB fraud case exploded, Nirav Modi wired $195,000 to one of Vanuatu’s 18 authorized agents handling CBI applications. His plan was to secure citizenship before his financial empire came crashing down.

But things didn’t go as planned. A government Financial Intelligence Unit, FIU check flagged “adverse findings” against him, leading Vanuatu to reject his application outright. As Justin Ngwele, managing partner of Vanuatu-based Indigene Lawyers, put it, “His application was not considered by the Government.”

Meanwhile, Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat made it clear on Monday that his country is no longer handing out passports without serious background checks. Over the past four years, Vanuatu has significantly tightened its scrutiny, with enhanced due diligence measures and triple-agency verification, including Interpol checks.

The reason for the caution – investor-citizenship schemes have long been criticized for helping financial criminals launder money and evade extradition. The European Union took things a step further, revoking Vanuatu’s visa-free travel agreement last year, citing security and migration risks due to its citizenship-for-sale program.

Nirav Modi’s uncle and PNB scam co-accused, Mehul Choksi, managed to slip through the cracks in Antigua and Barbuda’s investment program and has been fighting extradition to India ever since.

Even global watchdogs like the Financial Action Task Force, FATF have sounded the alarm, warning that such schemes allow criminals to move freely and hide behind shell companies.

The Last Bit, A Message to Economic Offenders. Nowhere is Safe!

Vanuatu’s days of selling passports without questions seem to be over. And for fugitives like Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, it just means fewer places left to run. 

Lalit Modi’s predicament sends a clear message to India’s economic offenders hiding across the world, the old India that remained passive is gone. The new Bharat is aggressive in protecting its interests and will leave no stone unturned to bring back fugitives. 

For India, this is a test of its resolve. If it can use this opportunity to bring Modi back, it will set a precedent for all future economic offenders. Therefore, it is crucial for India to act now before another loophole is exploited and another fugitive slips away.