Lalit Modi apologises after ‘biggest fugitives’ video with Vijay Mallya

Former Indian Premier League IPL chairman and fugitive Lalit Modi on Monday issued an apology to the Indian government The apology from Modi came days after he referred to himself and liquor baron Vijay Mallya as the two biggest fugitives in a viral video The video posted on social media soon went viral and created an outrage all across the internetI apologise if I have hurt anyone feelings especially the Indian Government who I have the highest respect and regard for The statement was misconstrued and was never intended to be as played out Once again my deepest apologiesmdash Lalit Kumar Modi LalitKModi December 29 2025While posting on social media handle X Lalit Modi did not clearly specify what exactly he was apologising for but comments on his post indicate that he is apologising for the video that he posted a few days ago as reported by news agency IANSFugitive Lalit Modi while taking it to social media said I apologise if I have hurt anyones feelings especially the Indian Government who I have the highest respect and regard for The statement was misconstrued and was never intended to be as played out Once again my deepest apologiesA social media post from Lalit Modi seeking an apology came after a video showing Modi at Mallyas lavish birthday party in London went viral last week In that clip Lalit Modi was heard saying We are the two fugitives the biggest fugitives of IndiaThe former IPL chairman had himself shared the video on Instagram captioning it Let me do something to break the internet down again Something for you folks Watch your heart out with envy sicThe post by Lalit soon triggered sharp reactions online with several users accusing Modi and Mallya of making a mockery of the Indian government and the countrys legal system reported IANSFollowing the backlash by the people on X and Instagram Lalit Modi in a few hours deleted the video from his social media accountReacting indirectly to the controversy sparked by Modis remarks the Ministry of External Affairs MEA reiterated Indias position that those wanted by law would be brought back to face justiceMinistry of External Affairs The process of bringing back fugitives is still onSoon after the video went viral on the internet MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal asserted We remain fully committed to ensuring that people who are fugitives who are wanted by law in India return to the country For this particular return we are in talks with several governments and processes are on In several of these cases there are several layers of legalities involved But we remain committed to bringing them back to the country so that they can face trial before the courts here as cited by news agency IANSBoth Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya who are facing serious charges in India have been residing in the United Kingdom for several yearsLalit Modi left India in 2010 after allegations surfaced against him relating to tax evasion money laundering and proxy ownership linked to the lucrative IPL Whereas the Enforcement Directorate has claimed that he manipulated the process of assigning IPL broadcast rights in 2009 allegedly in exchange for kickbacks exceeding Rs 125 croreVijay Mallya the former chairman of United Breweries and promoter of the nowdefunct Kingfisher Airlines fled India in 2016 amid allegations of financial fraud as per IANS Mallya is accused of defaulting on multiple bank loans and is said to owe Indian banks around Rs 9000 croreWith inputs from IANS