Senior Interpol officials are likely to visit India to discuss the request for a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against the exiled Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi.
The Quint has learnt from highly-placed sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that Interpol is sending officials since it is not satisfied with the evidence provided by the agency concerning alleged money-laundering in the IPL case. Hence, Interpol wants to hold a meeting with ED officials to gain clarity in the case. Some six months ago, the investigating agency had requested Interpol to issue the RCN against Modi.
On Tuesday, a court gave permission to the ED to begin Lalit Modi’s extradition process. Modi is currently in the United Kingdom. A non-bailable warrant has already been issued against Modi in August 2015.
Will India succeed in extraditing Modi without the RCN? ED officials say that they will start the extradition process with the UK government following the court order. But non-issuance of RCN against Modi can be a major hurdle.
RCN against Modi is essential to stop him from moving out of the UK. But now, since he knows that we are going to make an effort to extradite him from London, he can escape to a different country. Tracking him down then can get tougher.Senior Official, Enforcement Directorate
Why the Interpol Is Not Convinced of ED’s Investigation
The Quint has accessed the letter written by Modi’s lawyer to Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock in August 2015. The letter says the investigation against Modi is ‘to serve political and not legal purposes in India’. Hence, Interpol should not issue RCN against Modi. The letter reads:
….the rules adopted by the General Assembly prohibit the use of Interpol tools and services for matters of a predominantly political character and/or breach of the requesting country’s international obligations. Thus, a Red Corner Notice with respect to Mr Modi would not be in compliance with Interpol’s Constitution in this regard.
Modi’s lawyer also made an indirect reference to a senior NDA leader in his letter by referring to a news article. Calling the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case against Modi ‘politically motivated criminal prosecution’, the letter quotes from the article:
Another leader added that the strongest indictment against Lalit Modi came from a BCCI committee headed by Mr (Arun) Jaitley.
So far, Modi succeeded in holding Interpol back from issuing an RCN against him. But now with the court order in favour of the ED, will Interpol change its stance?
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