India’s passport power has improved this quarter compared to 2021. It now ranks at 83rd position in the Henley Passport Index, climbing seven places from 90th rank last year. However, in 2020, its rank stood at 84 while in 2016, India was ranked 85th along with Mali and Uzbekistan. Japan and Singapore top the index. The current rankings are for first quarter of 2022 and India shares the position with Sao Tome and Principe in Central Africa, behind Rwanda and Uganda.
Since 2005, Henley Passport Index ranks world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without prior visa and is based on data from International Air Transport Association. Indian passport holders can travel visa-free to 58 countries like Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macao, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Iran and Qatar. However, for visiting some countries, you might get a visa-on-arrival,
Visa-free and visa-on-arrival criteria:-
Visa-free passport holders are granted access to their destination countries without a prior visa application.
Visa-on-arrival, on the other hand, means that upon arrival at the destination country, a traveller needs to visit the immigration office/desk and apply and pay for a visa. On payment, they get an on-the-spot visa with a stamp on the passport.
However, this process is not as time-consuming as the pre-travel visa application process.
What dictates the strength of a passport?
A passport’s strength has a lot to do with a country’s economic and political standing such as treaties and trade relations, it has nothing to do with the traveller. Many countries have diplomatic treaties and relations with other countries. Under these treaties, they give visa-free travel rights to the citizens of other countries.
‘Take the EU as an example:- All the countries that come under the EU allows visa-free travel to the passport holders of fellow-EU country citizens. Consequently, all EU member countries are ranked very high on the passport index’.
When countries open trade with each other, they usually open their borders to their foreign citizens. A study published in the Applied Geography journal in 2011 noted that increased restrictions on visa hamper their contacts with the countries, which negatively impacts trade and foreign investment relations with their trade partners. To prevent this, many countries facilitate the ease of trade by offering them visa-free and visa-on-arrival access.
However, China is one exception to this rule. Not only does its passport is ranked very low in the list, but the countries continue to put further restrictions on their visas—even though it is increasingly becoming an important trade partner. Countries willingly permit the entry of economically stable and politically strong countries’ citizens. These countries believe that those travelers will contribute to their economy, either in business or tourism. Those travelers are believed to be less likely to breach travel conditions
On the Topic of Individuals being granted entry based on their political standing or power in the country, where are the wealthy individuals such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi that looted money and ran away to countries that would grant them entry entirely on their economic/financial standing?.
Vijay Mallya who defaulted on multiple loans now faces eviction from luxury home in London due to verdict in loan default case. Mallya held a mortgage obtained from UBS on the multi-million-pound property, located along Cornwall Terrace in one of the most sought after areas of the British capital, minutes from Regent’s Park and attractions such as Madame Tussaud’s wax museum , Embattled businessman Vijay Mallya recently lost a legal battle to hold on to his plush London home after a British court refused to grant him a stay of enforcement in a long-running dispute with Swiss bank UBS.
The 18/19 Cornwall Terrace luxury apartment overlooking Regent’s Park in London, described in court as an “extraordinarily valuable property worth many tens of millions of pounds“, is currently being occupied by Mallya’s 95-year-old mother Lalitha. Delivering his judgment virtually for the Chancery Division of the High Court, Deputy Master Matthew Marsh concluded there were no grounds for him to grant further time for the Mallya family to repay a GBP 20.4-million loan to UBS the claimant in the case.
The case relates to a mortgage taken out by Rose Capital Ventures, one of Mallya’s companies, with the former Kingfisher Airlines boss, his mother Lalitha and son Sidhartha Mallya listed as co-defendants with right of occupancy of the property. In May 2019, Judge Simon Barker had handed down a consent order allowing the family to retain possession with a final deadline of April 30, 2020, granted for repayment of the loan. That deadline failed to be met and with special rules in place over the COVID-19 pandemic period, UBS was legally unable to pursue enforcement until April 2021.
Moving to Nirav Modi who is a fugitive Indian businessman who was in the business of luxury diamond jewellery. He is the founder of Nirav Modi chain of diamond jewellery retail stores
Modi is being investigated in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. He was charged by the Indian government for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, corruption, money laundering, fraud, embezzlement and breach of contract in August 2018 in the PNB scam case and being sued in the state of California for US$4.2 million for defrauding Los Angeles entrepreneur, Paul Alfonso, over two custom diamond engagement rings that turned out to be lab diamonds In March 2018, Modi applied for bankruptcy protection in Manhattan, New York. In June 2018, Modi was reported to be in the UK where he reportedly applied for political asylum in Britain.In June 2019, Swiss authorities froze a total of 6 million US dollars present in Nirav Modi’s Swiss Bank accounts along with the assets.
With the collapse of his brand, Modi’s fortune has collapsed.Forbes removed him from their annual billionaires list, and on 9 March 2018, estimated his current wealth to be less than $100 million.As a result of the fiasco, the RBI has stopped issuing LoUs and LoCs for imports,which has limited the financial flexibility of importers. His company, A.JAFFE, acquired through his Synergies Corporation, was auctioned in May 2018 and was purchased by Parag Diamond. All the stores have been since closed.
In April 2018, it was alleged Modi had found safe haven in Hong Kong, but in June of that year he was reported to be in the UK where he applied for asylum, claiming he was a victim of “political persecution“ and denying any wrongdoing. In March 2019, Modi was reported have been sighted in the UK by The Telegraph It was said that he was living in an apartment costing £8 million. Indian authorities responded to the report by saying that an extradition request had been made to the UK. On 20 March 2019, he was arrested in London after a warrant was issued against him.Later that month, Indian tax authorities raised $8m by auctioning some of his art collection.Modi applied for bail in the UK High Court on May 31 , a day after his remand was extended. All his requests for bail have been rejected as of October 2020.
On the other hand Lalit Kumar Modi is an Indian businessman and cricket administrator. He was the founder & first chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League, and ran the tournament for three years until 2010. He also served as the Chairman of the Champions League during 2008–10 Shortly after IPL 2010 ended, Modi was suspended from BCCI after being accused of misconduct, indiscipline and financial irregularities. BCCI launched an investigation against him, and banned him for life in 2013 after a committee found him guilty of these charges.
However, the results were postponed 6 times by the Supreme Court due to court cases filed by Kishore Rungta and the BCCI. On 6 May 2014, Lalit Modi was re-elected as the President of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), while residing in London.
Modi, who denies the allegations in the High Court proceedings, travelled to London in 2010 after the lucrative Indian Premier League cricket tournament that he set up became embroiled in allegations of match-fixing and illegal betting. He says he left India because he faced death threats from organised crime bosses.
In Conclusion, The Trio have accumulated of 22,000 Crore in Debt the total value of recovery to Rs 9,041.5 crore, or 40 per cent of the over Rs 22,000 crore allegedly defrauded by the trio. The Directorate of Enforcement has sent extradition requests to various countries and filed applications under the Fugitive Economic Off enders Act,2018 against defaulters fleeing Indian jurisdiction.
“The Directorate of Enforcement has apprised that it has taken action under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and as on 10.12.2021, properties amounting to Rs 47,099 crore have been attached by it, and prosecution complaints before special courts have been filed in 115 cases,”
Sources of content:- timesofIndia.com , y-axis.com , moneycontrol.com , onmanorama.com, business-standard.com , EconomicTimes.com
