International
oi-Amit Vasudev
Vanuatu
Prime
Minister
Jotham
Napat
has
directed
the
Citizenship
Commission
to
revoke
Lalit
Modi’s
passport,
citing
the
rejection
of
Indian
authorities’
request
for
an
Interpol
alert
due
to
insufficient
evidence.
“I
have
instructed
the
Citizenship
Commission
to
immediately
begin
proceedings
to
cancel
Mr.
Modi’s
Vanuatu
passport,” Napat
stated.
Modi.
Image
courtesy:
https://x.com/LalitKModi
He
explained
that
although
background
checks
revealed
no
criminal
convictions,
he
was
recently
informed
that
Interpol
had
twice
refused
India’s
request
for
an
alert
notice
against
Lalit
Modi
due
to
a
lack
of
substantive
judicial
evidence.
This,
he
noted,
would
have
automatically
led
to
the
rejection
of
Modi’s
citizenship
application.
“While
all
standard
background
checks,
including
Interpol
screenings,
conducted
during
his
application
showed
no
criminal
convictions,
I
have
been
made
aware
in
the
past
24
hours
that
Interpol
twice
rejected
Indian
authorities’ requests
to
issue
an
alert
notice
on
Mr.
Modi
due
to
lack
of
substantive
judicial
evidence.
Any
such
alert
would
have
triggered
an
automatic
rejection
of
Mr.
Modi’s
citizenship
application,”
PM
Napat’s
statement
reads.
He
stressed
that
a
Vanuatu
passport
is
a
privilege,
not
a
right,
and
that
applicants
must
provide
valid
reasons
for
seeking
citizenship.
“None
of
those
legitimate
reasons
include
attempting
to
avoid
extradition,
which
the
recent
facts
brought
to
light
clearly
indicate
was
Mr.
Modi’s
intention,” Napat
added.
PM
Napat
further
stated
that
in
recent
years,
the
Vanuatu
government
has
reinforced
the
due
diligence
process
for
its
citizenship-by-investment
programme,
leading
to
a
greater
number
of
applications
being
rejected
following
enhanced
scrutiny
by
the
Vanuatu
financial
intelligence
unit.
The
updated
procedure
now
includes
triple-agency
checks,
incorporating
Interpol
verification,
according
to
the
statement.
Vanuatu
is
a
Pacific
island
nation
comprising
an
archipelago
of
83
islands,
65
of
which
are
inhabited.
Situated
to
the
east
of
Australia
and
north
of
New
Zealand,
Vanuatu
lies
approximately
midway
between
Australia
and
Fiji.
Its
capital
and
largest
city
is
Port
Vila,
located
on
Efate
Island.
The
country’s
national
language
is
Bislama,
a
Creole
language,
while
English
and
French
serve
as
official
languages.
