20/04/2010
New Delhi: The screws are tightening on IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi. Senior members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that the IPL governing council will meet on April 26 to admit a proposal that asks Modi to resign from all posts he holds failing which a meeting of the BCCI working committee will be convened on May 2 to propose his removal.
Besides being the Commissioner and chairman of the IPL, the prized sports cum-entertainment event he conceived and launched two years ago, Modi is also a member of the working committee and chairman of the tour, programme and fixture committee of BCCI.
Modi did not respond to phone calls and BCCI president Shashank Manohar was not available for comment. "The removal of a member can be decided only through a special General Body Meeting (SGM). In case Modi doesn't step down on his own, the working committee will subsequently convene the SGM for voting on the proposal," said a senior BCCI member requesting anonymity. The general body includes the board president, 25 regional cricket associations, three government boards including the services, university and the railways boards, and the Mumbai and the Kolkata cricket clubs. The body needs a two-thirds majority to move a resolution. Before the governing council meeting, some top BCCI officials are also likely to hold a meeting with IPL franchise owners on April 23. This, however, couldn't be independently ascertained with any of the team owners. Meanwhile, Modi has not been invited to this meeting, according to insiders.
The April 23 meeting, if it happens, will coincide with IPL awards to be held in Mumbai, which, according to an IPL media manager, will be attended by all franchisees. The IPL's current season ends on April 25.
Meanwhile, last year, the Income Tax codenamed its probe into the Indian Premier League and its Commissioner Lalit Modi as "Operation Second Inning." Now with a clear indication from Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee in Parliament that all aspects of the IPL's functioning and contracts will be under the Government's scanner, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also began its inquiry on Monday.
Consultations were held early Monday between officials of the ED and the Central Board of Direct Taxes and sources said the strategy for the inquiry would be formulated in a day or two.
Interestingly, officials said, besides scrutinising all foreign transactions made in the process of formation of teams and issue of commercial contracts over a three-year period, the ED will also probe the source and routing of funds to the IPL by all team and tournament sponsors.
With the ED stepping in, the scope of the IPL probe gets much wider with the jurisdiction of proving allegations of money laundering and "round-tripping" allegedly done by the IPL top brass, team owners and even sponsors.
Over the two years, the IT Department tracked the rise in fortunes of Modi and the companies who were beneficiaries of IPL contracts. "Source reports" generated by IT investigators list specific allegations of offshore entities being used to park and transfer IPL funds. These also name Modi's associates, including a former IAS officer, and question their role in alleged land conversion and mining deals. All this intelligence, backed with documents retrieved and received by the IT Department over the past week, is expected to be shared with the ED shortly.
Over the weekend, IT officials held consultations with their lawyers in Mumbai on what aspect of the probe would come under their jurisdiction and which will attract provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), both of which the ED enforces. In 2008, the ED had commenced a probe into the fund flows of Rajasthan Royals and that investigation is in progress.
Source: The Indian Express
More on News
K.Venugopal
#1
Tuesday, 20 April 2010 10:14:01
It is clear as daylight that the Congress party is putting pressure on BCCI to sack Lalit Modi. Circumstantial evidence was strong against Shashi Tharoor, forcing him to quit. What evidence is there against Lalit Modi, circumstantial or otherwise? Only a lot of speculation by Govt. agencies and pliant media. Moreover, Lalit Modi is not in the role of a Sanyasi to quit on moral grounds upon mere allegations of corruption. Congress fascist tactics must be seen through.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3842908&page=0
New Delhi: The screws are tightening on IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi. Senior members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that the IPL governing council will meet on April 26 to admit a proposal that asks Modi to resign from all posts he holds failing which a meeting of the BCCI working committee will be convened on May 2 to propose his removal.
Besides being the Commissioner and chairman of the IPL, the prized sports cum-entertainment event he conceived and launched two years ago, Modi is also a member of the working committee and chairman of the tour, programme and fixture committee of BCCI.
Modi did not respond to phone calls and BCCI president Shashank Manohar was not available for comment. "The removal of a member can be decided only through a special General Body Meeting (SGM). In case Modi doesn't step down on his own, the working committee will subsequently convene the SGM for voting on the proposal," said a senior BCCI member requesting anonymity. The general body includes the board president, 25 regional cricket associations, three government boards including the services, university and the railways boards, and the Mumbai and the Kolkata cricket clubs. The body needs a two-thirds majority to move a resolution. Before the governing council meeting, some top BCCI officials are also likely to hold a meeting with IPL franchise owners on April 23. This, however, couldn't be independently ascertained with any of the team owners. Meanwhile, Modi has not been invited to this meeting, according to insiders.
The April 23 meeting, if it happens, will coincide with IPL awards to be held in Mumbai, which, according to an IPL media manager, will be attended by all franchisees. The IPL's current season ends on April 25.
Meanwhile, last year, the Income Tax codenamed its probe into the Indian Premier League and its Commissioner Lalit Modi as "Operation Second Inning." Now with a clear indication from Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee in Parliament that all aspects of the IPL's functioning and contracts will be under the Government's scanner, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also began its inquiry on Monday.
Consultations were held early Monday between officials of the ED and the Central Board of Direct Taxes and sources said the strategy for the inquiry would be formulated in a day or two.
Interestingly, officials said, besides scrutinising all foreign transactions made in the process of formation of teams and issue of commercial contracts over a three-year period, the ED will also probe the source and routing of funds to the IPL by all team and tournament sponsors.
With the ED stepping in, the scope of the IPL probe gets much wider with the jurisdiction of proving allegations of money laundering and "round-tripping" allegedly done by the IPL top brass, team owners and even sponsors.
Over the two years, the IT Department tracked the rise in fortunes of Modi and the companies who were beneficiaries of IPL contracts. "Source reports" generated by IT investigators list specific allegations of offshore entities being used to park and transfer IPL funds. These also name Modi's associates, including a former IAS officer, and question their role in alleged land conversion and mining deals. All this intelligence, backed with documents retrieved and received by the IT Department over the past week, is expected to be shared with the ED shortly.
Over the weekend, IT officials held consultations with their lawyers in Mumbai on what aspect of the probe would come under their jurisdiction and which will attract provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), both of which the ED enforces. In 2008, the ED had commenced a probe into the fund flows of Rajasthan Royals and that investigation is in progress.
Source: The Indian Express
More on News
K.Venugopal
#1
Tuesday, 20 April 2010 10:14:01
It is clear as daylight that the Congress party is putting pressure on BCCI to sack Lalit Modi. Circumstantial evidence was strong against Shashi Tharoor, forcing him to quit. What evidence is there against Lalit Modi, circumstantial or otherwise? Only a lot of speculation by Govt. agencies and pliant media. Moreover, Lalit Modi is not in the role of a Sanyasi to quit on moral grounds upon mere allegations of corruption. Congress fascist tactics must be seen through.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3842908&page=0
No comments:
Post a Comment