Former Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) Chairman, Lalit Modi has been proved innocent and has been acquitted of the main proceedings over South Africa’s hosting rights during the 2009 IPL season. The Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA dropped all penalties and charges imposed on him.
He also rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s claim of mishandling of foreign money transfers, which were claimed as capital account transactions. The announcement comes after 16 years, as it is a big relief for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and some of its officials in the 2009 FEMA violation case.
Lalit Modi declared innocent
The judgment said the penalty imposed on Lalit Modi was quashed because he was not in charge of any of the cases and he was implicated in the case without any material to show that he was involved in the case.
The judgment said, “Shri Lalit Kumar Modi has been fined and even suspended in defiance of his position. He was not in charge of the affairs and has otherwise been implicated in the case without any material showing his responsibility. The fine imposed on Shri Lalit Kumar Modi is completely misplaced and thus merits interference.”
On false allegations, Lalit Modi said, “I was not responsible.”
Lalit Modi said the tribunal ruled that the IPL 2009 remittance was a current account transaction, not a capital account transaction. He also said that he was happy that the tribunal had found that he was not responsible for BCCI’s statutory FEMA compliance.
Modi welcomed the decision. “The Tribunal has rejected the central premise on which the Enforcement Directorate’s case against me was built. It held that the major foreign remittances relating to the conduct of IPL 2009 in South Africa were current account transactions and not capital account transactions, thereby overturning the foundation of the earlier findings.
“The Tribunal also found that I was neither responsible for BCCI’s statutory FEMA compliance nor vested with the financial authority alleged by the Enforcement Directorate, and it has quashed the penalty imposed on me in the main proceedings.”
N Srinivasan gets big relief from reduction in fine by Tribunal
Lalit Modi also said that he is happy and that for the last 16 years he has been holding the same position, he has worked in the best interest of Indian cricket and IPL and has not done anything wrong that would harm the country’s reputation in terms of cricket.
“This marks the conclusion of the most significant legal case arising from the 2009 South Africa IPL. For more than sixteen years I have consistently maintained the same position: I acted in good faith in the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and committed no personal wrongdoing.”
Apart from Lalit Modi, former BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and former treasurer Pandove were fined twice. Srinivasan’s punishment was reduced from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 lakh, while Pandove’s fine of Rs 50 lakh was reduced to Rs 5 lakh. The fine imposed on BCCI was reduced from Rs 4 crore to Rs 1 crore.
