
Lalit Modi: Vanuatu PM cancels passport of former IPL cricket chief
The prime minister of Vanuatu has ordered the cancellation of a passport issued by the island nation to fugitive Indian businessman Lalit Modi, who is wanted by Delhi in a corruption case.The order came three days after India confirmed that Mr Modi had got citizenship of Vanuatu, a string of more than 80 islands in the Pacific Ocean.Mr Modi, the former chief of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is wanted for allegedly rigging bids during his tenure as the head of the world's richest cricket tournament.Mr Modi, who has been living in the UK since 2010, has always denied the allegations.
India has made several unsuccessful attempts to extradite him.On Friday, India's foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters that Mr Modi had applied to surrender his Indian passport in London."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," Jaiswal had said.The news of Mr Modi becoming a Vanuatu citizen had made headlines in India, where he was once the face of the glamorous, cash-rich IPL tournament. He was a regular presence on the social scene, rubbing shoulders with Bollywood stars and India's elite.But on Monday, Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat announced that his country had decided to cancel Mr Modi's citizenship. Napat said a Vanuatu passport was a "privilege" and that "applicants must seek citizenship for legitimate reasons"."None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Mr Modi's intention," a media release quoted Napat as saying.He said that background checks and Interpol screenings conducted during Mr Modi's application for a passport had shown no criminal convictions.But, he added, that in the past 24 hours, he had been made aware that Interpol had twice rejected India's requests to issue an alert notice on Mr Modi, citing a lack of "substantive judicial evidence"."Any such alert would've triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi's citizenship application," the release added. The move is likely to bring relief to Indian authorities. Unlike the UK, Vanuatu - an island nation in the Pacific Ocean - does not have an extradition treaty with India. Extradition treaties allow repatriation of people accused of crimes between countries.A day earlier, Mr Modi wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that there were no cases pending against him in any court in India and accused the media of peddling "fake news" about him.Mr Modi was instrumental in founding the IPL in 2008, which has now become a multi-billion-dollar industry. The main accusations against Mr Modi relate to rigging bids during the auction of two team franchises in 2010. He was also accused of selling broadcasting and internet rights without authorisation.In 2013, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned Mr Modi from any involvement in cricket activities for life.Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
World's tallest railway bridge higher than Eiffel Tower opens in India as £200million project hailed as ‘crown jewel'
This is the centrepiece of India's £3.7bn project to boost connectivity to the disputed Kashmir region BRIDGING THE GAP World's tallest railway bridge higher than Eiffel Tower opens in India as £200million project hailed as 'crown jewel' INDIA has unveiled the world's highest railway bridge - built with 30,000 tonnes of steel and towering 359 metres above the river bed. The Chenab Bridge, linking India to Kashmir, has been hailed as the 'crown jewel of India' amid major tensions over the disputed region controlled by rival neighbours India and Pakistan. 5 The Chenab Bridge sits 359 metres high and spans 0.8 miles Credit: Alamy 5 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands on the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, India Credit: EPA 5 Modi holds the Indian national flag at the bridge's inauguration Credit: EPA India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the £200 million bridge in his first visit to Kashmir since the conflict between India and Pakistan in April. The bridge's inauguration comes just a month after a shooting in the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian-controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 people. Waving the national flag over the bridge, Modi said: "Pakistan will never forget… its shameful loss.' He added: 'Today's event is a grand festival of India's unity and firm resolve.' Dubbed by Indian Railways as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, the bridge is seen as a symbol of India's economic strength. Stretching 0.8 miles long, the structure has been built to withstand 165mph winds and high-intensity earthquakes. The idea for the railway was first floated in 1892 by the then ruling Maharaja Hari Singh, who brought in British engineers to survey the rugged terrain. But given its complexity, the plan was ultimately shelved. The 169-mile railway line starts in the garrison town of Udhampur in Jammu and winds its way through Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir. It ends in Baramulla, near the heavily militarised Line of Control that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. India & Pakistan accuse each other of breaking ceasefire as explosions heard hours after deal The bridge is the focal point of the £3.7bn Udhampur-Katra-Baramulla project - set to connect Jammu and Kashmir with 36 tunnels and 943 bridges. It is expected to slice in half - to around three hours - the time taken to travel from Katra, a town in Kashmir's Hindu-majority Jammu region to Srinagar, Kashmir's main city which has a Muslim majority. Around 16 million people live in Kashmir, split between the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled areas. When India and Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947, Indian troops took control of two-thirds of Kashmir, while Pakistan seized the northern third. Since then, the dispute between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has evolved into one of the world's most intense geopolitical rivalries. India accused Pakistan of backing the recent Pahalgam massacre - a claim Islamabad firmly denies. US President Donald Trump said: "The United States stands strong with India against terrorism. "We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured. "Prime Minister Modi, and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies." In response to the terror attack, India launched "Operation Sindoor", striking nine sites across Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan officials said the "unprovoked" strikes killed at least 31 people, including several children, as well as injuring 46 others. The fraught period also saw India and Pakistan cancelling visas for each other's citizens. 5 An Indian soldier patrols after the attack in Pahalgam


Daily Record
2 days ago
- Daily Record
Police arrest 300 people in major crackdown on illegal working in Scotland
Officers have been swooping on businesses across the country in a bid to tackle those abusing the UK immigration system. Over 300 people have been arrested in Scotland as part of an operation to disable illegal working in the UK. Officers have been swooping on businesses across the country in a bid to tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people. A particular focus has been on cracking down on employers facilitating illegal working - often subjecting migrants to squalid conditions and illegal working hours below minimum wage. Restaurants, nail bars and construction sites have been among the thousands of businesses targeted. Since July 2024, 469 visits resulted in 309 arrests - marking a 63% and 68% rise respectively to the previous year. Last month, a raid in Glasgow saw six arrested after immigration enforcement officers undertook visits to businesses across the city. Four men and two women were arrested for having no right to work in the UK and overstaying their visas. The individuals were of Indian, Iraqi, Colombian, Spanish and Portuguese nationalities. Businesses to be targeted in the sting included Malaga Tapas West End, Malaga Tapas Bearsden, The Malletsheugh, The Marmaris and Lamegos. The action forms part of a nationwide intensification which has seen illegal working visits increase by 48% and arrests spike by 51% across the UK. It comes alongside a ramp-up of operational activity to restore control of the immigration system, including the return of nearly 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: ' Illegal working simply will not be tolerated under this government. 'That's why we are intensifying our enforcement activity to target illegal workers and unscrupulous employers who undermine our border security. 'Under our Plan for Change, we are finally restoring order to our immigration system and ensuring the rules are respected and enforced.' Lynne Davidson, HM Inspector, Scotland ICE Team, said: 'There is no excuse for ignoring employment and immigration rules and those who do should be in no doubt that they will face the full consequences. 'Businesses have a legal requirement to carry out right to work checks on employees and we will continue to pursue unscrupulous employers and those who break immigration laws.' Ramping up illegal working enforcement activity forms a key part of the Home Office's drive to restore order to the immigration system under the UK Government 's Plan for Change. In many cases, individuals travelling to the UK illegally are sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK, when in reality they often end up facing poor pay, inhumane working hours and squalid living conditions The UK Government is also introducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working by extending Right to Work checks on those hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.


Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Lammy seeks to ‘deepen' UK-India ties on New Delhi visit
David Lammy will seek to deepen UK-India economic ties as he visits New Delhi this weekend, saying Britain's recently agreed trade deal with the country is 'just the start of our ambitions'. Trade and migration will be at the top of the agenda for the Foreign Secretary's trip, during which he will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar. The Foreign Office said Mr Lammy would also raise 'the recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and how the welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region'. Pakistan and India agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire last month after rising hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals followed a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir. Ahead of the visit, Mr Lammy said: 'Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our ambitions – we're building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. 'We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and co-operate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and providing greater security for our people.' The Foreign Office said talks in New Delhi would aim to 'deepen and diversify the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries'. 'The Foreign Secretary will also welcome progress in our migration partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and securing borders in both countries,' it said.