LINDEBORG Counsellors at Law

47 Curzon Street, London W1J 7UJ, United Kingdom

Dr Rutsel Silvestre J Martha, LLM

Lindeborg Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registered number 8850299. Registered Office 7 Torriano Mews , London NW52R2

Question concerning the purported Light Blue Notice Issued by INTERPOL

against Mr Lalit Kumar Modi 1. This opinion is issued in relation to the recent media reports, especially in India, concerning a purported Blue Notice issued at the request of Indian authorities by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) against Mr Lalit Kumar Modi DOB 29 November 1963 of Indian Nationality. My opinion has specifically been asked in relation to the news report titled 'Confusion' Over Shades of Blue in

Notice Against Lalit Modi, Says Arun Jaitley1, published on 16 June 2015 by NDTV which claimed that a Light Blue Notice had been issued by INTERPOL against Lalit Modi. 2. For the reasons set forth below, it is my considered expert opinion that the claim advanced in the above captioned news report that India has issued against Mr Lalit Modi an INTERPOL Light Blue Notice which was created to fight financial crime is both factually and legally incorrect. 3. As far as INTERPOLs rules are concerned: (i) There is no such thing as an INTERPOL Light Blue Notice. (ii) No member country is legally empowered to issue a Blue or any INTERPOL Notice whatsoever, irrespective of colour. Only INTERPOLs General Secretariat HQ is legally authorized issue INTERPOL Notices. (iii) As of the writing of this opinion, there is no such thing, INTERPOL Notice for financial crimes. 4. This opinion draws on the expertise that that I developed from more than 30 years as a practitioner and scholar of international law. In particular, from 2004 until 2008, I served as the General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs of INTERPOL (Lyon) and I have taught a course on INTERPOL as a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore Law School from 2007 to 2013. My publications on international law include: The Legal Foundations of INTERPOL (Hart Publishing, 2010), Challenging Acts of INTERPOL in Domestic Courts (In: Challenging Acts of

International Organizations Before National Courts, Edited by August Reinisch, OUP, September 2010), and Remedies Against INTERPOL: role and practice of defense lawyers - Conference European Criminal Bar Association Lyon, 6 October 2007 (online). Most recently I served as the General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs of the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Rome (2008-2013). I was the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles (1998-2002), Minister Plenipotentiary to the European Union (1990-1998), and Counsellor in the Legal Department of the IMF (1987-1989). I hold law degrees, including a PhD in law, from the University of Leiden (The Netherlands) and the Washington College of Law (Washington DC). I am currently practising at Lindeborg Counselllors at Law as an international legal consultant in London specializing in providing expert legal advice on matters involving INTERPOL and international law. 1 NDTV 16 June 2014. Available at: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/blue-corner-notice-against-lalit-modi-still-stands-says-agency-that-issued-it-772143?site=full (Last accessed 18:49 GMT 16 June 2014).

LINDEBORG Counsellors at Law

47 Curzon Street, London W1J 7UJ, United Kingdom

Dr Rutsel Silvestre J Martha, LLM

Lindeborg Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registered number 8850299. Registered Office 7 Torriano Mews , London NW52R2

5. For the purposes of the present opinion I have examined amongst others the following documents: (i) Mr Modis submission dated 24 July 2013 to the Commission for the Control of INTERPOLs Files (henceforth CCF); (ii) Mr Modis letter dated 24 August 2013 to the CCF; (iii) The CCFs letter dated 16 October 2013 to Mr Modi; and (iv) The above captioned news report. 6. Created in 1923 and reconstituted in 1956, the essential function of INTERPOL is to provide an organised and coordinated response to the demand for international police enforcement cooperation. Each member country is required to designate an entity to serve as the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in that Country. The NCBs task is essentially to liaise with the INTERPOL General Secretariat Headquarters and with the NCBs of the other member countries. 7. One of INTERPOLs tools to accomplish this goal is its Notices published i.a. at the request of an NCB or an international entity that has been authorised to use INTERPOLs channels. The publication of INTERPOL Notices, their correction, suspension, deletion etc. are governed by the INTERPOL Constitution and the rules adopted thereunder by the INTERPOL General Assembly, consisting of 190 member countries. Currently, those rules are set forth in the INTERPOL Rules on the

Processing of Data (hereinafter IRPD). 8. According to the IRPD an INTERPOL Notice means any request for international cooperation or any international alert published by the Organization at the request of aN NCB or an international entity, or at the initiative of the General Secretariat, and sent to all the INTERPOLs Members. 9. The purpose and the condition of the INTERPOL Blue Notice are set forth in Article 88 of the IRPD. It will be noted that the concept of Light Blue Notice does not appear anywhere in that provision, nor elsewhere in the IRPD. Accordingly, the assertion in the abovementioned media report regarding the existence of a Light Blue Notice against Mr Modi is legally incorrect: There is no such thing as an INTERPOL Light Blue Notice. 10. In addition to being legally incorrect, the assertion is also factually incorrect. This follows from CCFs letter dated 16 October 2013 to Mr Modi, which states as follows: We would like to inform you that the INTERPOL General Secretariat has not

issued any blue notice concerning you and that there is no information concerning you in INTERPOLs files originating from India. (Emphasis added)

11. This sentence harbours three distinct messages. In the first place, it makes clear that INTERPOL has not issued any Blue Notice against Mr. Modi, not an actual Blue Notice or the fictitious Light Blue Notice discussed in the above captioned media report. Second, it also makes clear that India has not entered any information about

LINDEBORG Counsellors at Law

47 Curzon Street, London W1J 7UJ, United Kingdom

Dr Rutsel Silvestre J Martha, LLM

Lindeborg Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registered number 8850299. Registered Office 7 Torriano Mews , London NW52R2

Mr Modi in INTERPOLs databases which means that India has not used INTERPOLs information system to conduct an investigation of Mr Modi. Thirdly and importantly, it follows from the first two points that Mr Modi is not wanted for arrest by India or an international fugitive from India as has been suggested in the media. 12. It is important to stress that according to the IRPD only the General Secretariat can issue INTERPOL Notices. The General Secretariats exclusive authority in this regard is enshrined in Article 73 of the IRPD. Therefore the statement that an INTERPOL Light Blue Notice against Mr Modi was published by India itself must be considered a complete fabrication. 13. Finally, not only is there no such thing as a Light Blue Notice, unlike suggested in the above captioned media report, but there is no such thing as an INTERPOL Notice for financial crimes either. Currently, INTERPOL notices system comprises only the following types of notices:

Red Notice: To seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action. Yellow Notice: To help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves. Blue Notice: To collect additional information about a persons identity, location or activities in relation to a crime. Black Notice: To seek information on unidentified bodies. Green Notice: To provide warnings and intelligence about persons who have committed criminal offences and are likely to repeat these crimes in other countries. Orange Notice: To warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety. Purple Notice Purple Notice: To seek or provide information on modi operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods INTERPOLUnited Nations Security Council Special Notice: Issued for groups and individuals who are the targets of UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.

14. For the above stated reasons, I restate unequivocally that it is my considered expert

opinion that the claim advanced in the above captioned media report that India has issued against Mr Lalit Modi an INTERPOL Light Blue Notice which was created to fight financial crime is both factually and legally incorrect. Moreover, it is also my considered opinion that India has not investigated Mr Modi using INTERPOLs information system, and it has not issued any kind of INTERPOL Notice against Mr Modi.

London, 16 June 2015