Vanuatu government says it is aware of the charges and investigations against the former Trinamool Congress leader who has fled to Vanuatu.
New Delhi: The fate of former Trinamool Congress leader Vinay Mishra, who has been made one of the prime accused in the cow smuggling case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and has now taken up the citizenship of Vanuatu, depends on the court judgement that will be delivered by the Calcutta High Court.
The Vanuatuan government has told The Sunday Guardian that if Mishra is convicted, they will extradite him. Floyd Ray Mera, the Director of Vanuatuan Financial Intelligence Unit, in an interaction with The Sunday Guardian, said that if Mishra is convicted they will move “swiftly” to revoke his citizenship. It is pertinent to mention that the hearing in Mishra’s case was completed on 14 July and the judgement is “reserved” now. Edited excerpts:
Q: Mr Vinay Mishra is facing a series of serious criminal charges in India. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already named him in one such case and his case is being heard by the Calcutta High Court. Was your department aware of his antecedents when he was given citizenship?
A: As stipulated under the Citizenship Program Regulation, this office (Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit) is required to check whether applicants have previous convictions/criminal records. Hence, this office conducted its checks against past convictions. Our checks are comprehensive (captures criminal investigations—active, ongoing or dormant; adverse allegations, ongoing court proceedings, legal person disqualification listings, terrorism listings, law enforcement listings, sanctions listings, international bodies’ sanctions listing etc). We provide all our necessary findings to the Citizenship Commission.
Has Mr Mishra received a verdict or a conviction for this case? And in this particular case being heard by the Calcutta High Court, has the court issued a conviction against Mr Mishra? If so, please forward me a copy of the court judgement. We are aware of some investigations against Mr Vinay Mishra, but these investigations haven’t resulted in a conviction at that time.
Q: When was he given citizenship?
A: We received Mr Mishra’s due diligence check application in October 2020 and we identified several investigations against him. So we sought a copy of his Police Clearance and this document was forwarded to us. We then issued our response to the Citizenship Commission. We do not have readily available information on when he was granted citizenship. The Citizenship Commission may assist you in this.
Q: With your department now aware of the cases that he is facing in India, will he be asked to explain his side?
A: Yes, we are aware of the allegations and investigations against him and we’ll await the court judgements. If he’s convicted, then we’ll swiftly proceed to inform the Citizenship Commission with strong recommendation for his citizenship revocation.
Q: Will your department extradite him?
A. Yes, that is a possibility.