Wanted Indian businessman did not apply for golden passport - Identity Malta

Identity Malta has denied claims appearing in the blog of Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia that former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi had successfully procured himself Maltese citizenship.

Identity Malta said that Modi had never applied for the Individual Investors’ Programme and said it was untrue that he holds Maltese citizenship.

Modi was reported by the Indian press to have been located in Malta, following a request for an Interpol red notice against him. Interpol did not issue the red notice against the wanted man.

Modi is said to be in the UK, where he might soon face extradition procedures to face charges in India for his role in a money laundering case relating to alleged financial irregularities in the operations of various editions of the T20 cricket tournament.

On 11 August 2015, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought an Interpol notice against Modi in connection with its probe into the IPL money laundering case.

Modi fled India about five years ago when charges pertaining to IPL money laundering came into limelight. Earlier in August some reports also emerged of Modi brokering a deal for Sahara to help sell off its properties.

Modi, born in Delhi in 1963, was the first chairman and commissioner of the IPL, running the tournament for three years until 2010.

Shortly after 2010 ended, Modi was suspended from the Board of Control for Cricket in India after being accused of misconduct, indiscipline and financial irregularities. The BCCI launched an investigation against him, and banned him for life in 2013 after a committee found him guilty of these charges. Modi denied any wrongdoing, and blamed accusations on political rivalries.

Shortly before the Enforcement Directorate  launched an investigation against him for alleged financial irregularities, Modi moved to London. As of 2015, the ED has not found Modi guilty of any financial irregularities.

The Indian government revoked his passport in 2010, but the decision was overturned by the High Court in 2014.

As a scion of a leading business family, Modi is the President and Managing Director of Modi Enterprises and the Executive Director of Godfrey Phillips India.