New Delhi: Former IPL chief and well-known businessman Lalit Modi has played a new trick to escape Indian law. He has given up Indian citizenship and acquired the citizenship of Vanuatu, a small country in the Pacific Ocean. According to the information, Lalit Modi has taken Vanuatu citizenship by spending crores of rupees.
By giving up Indian citizenship and obtaining a foreign passport, the process of extraditing Lalit Modi and bringing him back has become extremely complicated. Lalit Modi acquired Vanuatu citizenship because there is no tax here. The Vanuatu government runs the Golden Visa program. Under the Golden Visa program, citizenship can be easily acquired by paying money.
One has to pay crores of rupees for Vanuatu citizenship. Vanuatu does not have an extradition treaty with India or any other country. Lalit Modi’s extradition from Vanuatu to India is very difficult. Vanuatu is a safe haven for people involved in fraud and scams.
Lalit Modi’s case is similar to that of Indian diamond merchant Mehul Choksi. Choksi took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017. When India tried to extradite him, he tried his best to avoid returning to India by resorting to citizenship and legal hurdles. Till now Mehul Choksi has not been brought back.
Now Lalit Modi has also adopted the same path. After taking Vanuatu’s citizenship, his Indian passport was automatically cancelled and the Indian government now has limited scope to take legal action against him. The Indian government can make diplomatic and legal efforts to bring Lalit Modi back, but due to the absence of an extradition treaty with Vanuatu, this will be extremely difficult.
