Days after former Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi filed an application with the Indian High Commission in London to surrender his Indian passport, Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has directed the Citizenship Commission to cancel the passport issued to Modi, reports have suggested.
Sources also said Neeta Bhushan, India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, along with a few other island nations, played a key role in getting Lalit Modi’s Vanuatu’s passport cancelled.
The development reportedly comes following recent revelations in international media that the former IPL chief is wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies in connection with his alleged involved in embezzlement of crores of rupees during his stint as the top boss of the IPL.
Modi, on March 7, submitted an application to surrender his Indian passport, and the development was later confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Lalit Modi, who left India in 2010 and is learnt to have been living in London, is now known to have acquired citizenship of Vanuatu, a South Pacific Island nation.
“He has made an application for surrendering his passport in the high commission of India, London,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“The same will be examined in light of extant rules and procedures. We are also given to understand that he has acquired citizenship of Vanuatu. We continue to pursue the case against him as required under law,” he said.
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