Published>Tue, Apr 27 10 12:22 PM
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday launched an all-out offensive against suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi alleging that he rigged auction bids for two new franchises, and raised doubts over the ownership of two existing teams. It also replaced Modi with board vice president and Baroda Cricket Association chief Chirayu Amin as the interim IPL commissioner.
The Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar read out a list of charges against Modi at a media conference in Mumbai on Monday, but stopped short of producing documentary evidence to substantiate them. Given that they were serious charges - rigging of IPL auction bids, effecting the disappearance of tax-related documents from the BCCI office, allowing some to own teams without even having a stake in them, or even hinting that two people who claimed to own the Rajasthan Royals team are not even listed in the shareholders' register - the BCCI could not elaborate on the allegations made against Modi.
Manohar said that the BCCI had received complaints from the Kochi IPL franchise owners that they were arm-twisted by Modi to surrender their rights in favour of somebody else. The BCCI chief was facing the media less than 12 hours after suspending Modi from the board for "individual misdemeanours". The five counts of omissions and commissions that Modi has been asked to reply are: The initial bid of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, broadcasting rights to Sony, rigging in the new bids for the Kochi and Pune franchises, sale of internet rights, and his behavioural pattern.
Modi did not move court nor did he make any public statement regarding the charges against him, but said on his Twitter page that he had a restful day. "Been in the spa all day," he wrote. "Much needed rest." He also added: "I am still chairman of IPL. Just suspended. Wait - we have just begun." Manohar's statements were the first that a top BCCI official had made against the alleged irregularities in the awarding of franchises. There was speculation that all along Modi was helping his friends, but the BCCI had never mentioned this in a public platform.
Manohar's first salvo was aimed at Rajasthan Royals. "There is a charge sheet issued to Modi by the I-T (income tax) department," the lawyer from Nagpur said. "There was a company based in the UK called Emerging Media. The company was owned by a single individual - Manoj Badale - and was started four months before the bid. His bid was accepted." He alleged that the agreement that was signed was with Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited. "This company had two stakeholders - one Mr Castelinho and Bal Thakur - who signed the documents," he said. Manohar contended that the franchise shares were later given to others. "In the Rajasthan Royals franchise, Jaipur IPL is the main company. The shares of these two persons were then sold and transferred to certain individuals and certain companies such as Tresco and Blue Waters about whom nobody knows. I also didn't find the names of Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, who claim to be the stakeholders, in the shareholders' list," he said.
He alleged that the Kings XI Punjab team has a similar story. "When the bids were given, it was signed only by Preity Zinta. She said she would form a consortium with three people: Mohit Burman, Karan Paul and one other person. When the franchise agreement was signed by her, she did not have a single share in that company. The shares were transferred to her after the signing of the agreement," Manohar said. The BCCI chief's contention was that such a move couldn't be made without the consent of the IPL governing council and the payment of a percentage of the transacted value.
"There is a clause in the IPL agreement, which is entered into with all the franchises, that in case you transfer your shares, the transfer has to be made with the permission of the IPL and the BCCI is entitled to five per cent of the amount of the transaction as their fees. None of us was aware of these deals and we don't know what these companies are," Manohar said.
However, in both cases, Manohar made only allegations but could not produce evidence to back his claims. "In fact," said a BCCI insider, "the board has publicly skewered Modi even before he was given a chance to explain even though they have given him 15 days to reply to the charges." On the broadcasting deal and allegation of facilitation fees being given are concerned, Manohar said the BCCI doesn't have the papers. "There is an allegation that a facilitation fee was paid. But the board does not have the document. The deal happened between MSM (Multi Screen Media) Singapore and WSG Mauritius, so there is no reason why this document would be present with the board. The income tax authorities are asking for it, but we can't supply it because we don't have it."
Manohar also alleged that Modi has been leaking classified information to the media. "There was confidential information of the board which was being leaked to the media." It was this that constituted allegations of "behavioural patterns". "The board will hold, after receiving a reply from Mr Modi, an inquiry, if necessary. If the reply of Mr Modi convinces the members, the proceedings will be dropped," the BCCI president said.
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved.
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