After ‘breaking internet in India’, Lalit Modi apologises; move follows governmentt statement

In a fresh development on Monday, fugitive economic offender Lalit Modi apologised for his recent social media posts, expressing respect for the Indian government and stating that his comments were misconstrued.

Modi’s apology comes amid ongoing government efforts to bring fugitives facing financial charges in India back to the country to face trial.

MEA reiterates commitment to return fugitives

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday reaffirmed that India remains committed to ensuring fugitives wanted in the country return and face trial.

Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that multiple legal processes are involved but the government is actively pursuing their return.

"We remain fully committed that people who are fugitives and wanted by law in India, return to the country. For this particular return, we are in talks with several governments and processes are on... There are several layers of legalities involved but we remain committed to bring them back to the country so they can face trial before the courts here," Jaiswal said.

The statement was in response to queries about a viral video featuring Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya, both of whom are facing financial irregularity cases in India.

Social media posts spark reactions

On Monday, Lalit Modi shared photos and videos of Mallya’s 70th birthday celebrations in London, labelling the event as a “Glorious Evening”.

In one viral Instagram clip, Modi referred to himself and Mallya as “the two biggest fugitives of India”, adding:

"Let's break the internet down in India again. Happy birthday my friend #VijayMallya."

The posts attracted sharp criticism on social media. Modi had deleted those posts, and now issued apology.

Overview of fugitive economic offenders

India has declared a total of 15 individuals as Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, as of 31 October 2025.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary noted that nine of these offenders were involved in large-scale financial fraud targeting public sector banks. High-profile names on the list include Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi.

The 15 FEOs caused a principal financial loss of Rs 26,645 crore to banks up to 31 October 2025, with interest on non-performing assets accruing to Rs 31,437 crore. Chaudhary added that Rs 19,187 crore has been recovered from these individuals so far.

Earlier this month, Mallya questioned inconsistencies in government and bank statements regarding recovered amounts and requested the appointment of a retired judge to investigate the matter.