Lalit Modi: “Mera Pass Papa Hein”

A similing Lalit Modi in spite of his suspension as Commissioner and Chairman of the IPL, by the BCCI governing council must surely be saying, “Mera pass Papa hein”, even as Ratnakar Shetty began his probe into what has now come to be known as IPL gate.

BCCI President Shashank Manohar washed his hands off all liability for Lalit Modi’s alleged wrong doings by saying that “you don’t expect us to come and sit here all day long”. He also said that some papers pertaining to the bids and other crucuial, sensitive and confidential matters were missing.

 

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http://futuristicmedianetwork.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/iplgate-k-k-modi-family-support-lalit-modi-lalit-modi-legal-inheritor-successor-of-godfrey-phillips-india-gpi/

Has Lalit Modi gone underground to prepare his next move or has a compromise deal been struck??

Has Lalit Modi gone underground after the BCCI announced an interrim chairman? Apparently all his phones were switched off or not reachable and there was complete silence on Twitter as well. The Modi camp was completely silent and even close associates of Modi were tight-lipped. Or has a compromise formula been worked out between Shashank Manohar, Lalit Modi and the BCCI?

A few random statements by Shashank Manohar during the press conference that followed the governing council meeting would make one think so. Firstly Manohar said “suspension is not a punishment”. He also said that Lalit Modi will be given a hearing and an opportunity to defend himseld and if he offers a resonable explanation, the probe will be dropped or wound up. In other words it looks like a compromise deal has been worked out between the warring parties, say some BCCI sources and BCCI watchers.

 

The script goes like this: Lalit Modi is suspended dramatically by the BCCI to show that the Board has taken stern and decisive action. He is show-caused and given time to reply. The so-called enquiry proceeds on paper with each party going through the rituals.. A new commissioner is appointed and life goes on as usual at the BCCI. A few weeks or months later, the media and the general public forget the entire issue as the controversy dies a natural death. No more heads roll. No more skeletons come tumbling out of the BCCI closets. Lalit Modi lies low for a few months and then re-surfaces in a new avatar. Everybody is a winner in this case. For the record, the BCCI says their enquiry didn’t find any incriminating evidence or solid proof against Modi and he is given the benefit of doubt as the heat evaporates and things cool down. Lalit Modi’s explanation is found satisfactory and eventually as the media and investigating agencies lose interest, Modi is let off the hook. In the end its much ado about nothing, with the press having made a mountain of a molehill.

IPL gate: Lalit Modi’s biography titled The Lalit Modi we all loved and hated

The IPL controversy or IPLgate or the IPL scam as it has come to be known as has generated reams and reams of newsprint with newspapers dedicating teams of reporters to cover the tamasha. Sports reporters or cricket correspondents have probably never felt or made to feel so important in any publication. 

Now freelance journalist and author Flynn Remedios is burning the midnight oil trying to get out Lalit Modi’s biography before the controversy dies down. Says Flynn Remedios, “For the last two weeks the media has gone to town and most news channels have dedicated almost or more than 60 per cent of their news telecast time to the IPL controversy or IPL gate. A lot of incorrect information or data is coming out in the media. The real controversy lies buried six feet under. There is much much more to IPLgate than meets the eye. Many more big names are involved. There is the match fixing and betting rackets and some prominent names will definitely come out. My books will reveal much more than what is being seen right now. Skeletons will tumble out of the closets, dressing rooms and drawers like bees coming out of a beehive.” 

Besides Lalit Modi’s biography, it is also learnt that Flynn Remedios is working on a film script on the IPL saga for a well-known film director and producer and another book titled IPL gate.

Asked how long it will take before the books can hit the book shelves of stores, Flynn quips, “Maybe a month, maybe two months. It depends on how fast my publishers can print it.”

IPL Scam: Lalit Modi accused of money laundering, match fixing and running a betting network

 

 

The Income Tax department has substantial evidence to prove that Lalit Modi is involved in money laundering, match fixing and abetting or running a betting network across the world according to various news reports in the media. A TV report says that a Delhi socialite Sameer runs a betting network on behalf of Lalit Modi who provides him with inside information on the status of the IPL matches. Whether all this evidence will stand up to the scrutiny of the courts is an altogether different story.

Meanwhile Lalit Modi has vehemently denied all these allegations. He said there was absolutely no betting in IPL matches. He also threatened to take any legal action against these reports. The source of these reports is a confidential dossier prepared by the Income Tax department about six months ago and now corroborated after additional information was obtained from the raids carried out on Lalit Modi’s offices including the BCCI and IPL head quarters. 

Here are some links to articles and reports:

 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/ET-Cetera/Lalit-Modi-charged-with-Betting–Laundering/articleshow/5829947.cms?curpg=4 

http://cricket.zeenews.com/fullstory.aspx?nid=29160

 http://videos.oneindia.in/watch/24663/lalit-modi-involved-ipl-betting.html

 http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_lalit-modi-threatens-to-take-legal-action-over-betting-allegations_1373062

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lalit-Modi-involved-in-betting-murky-deals-I-T-report/articleshow/5830420.cms

IPL Scam: Broke, debt-ridden and almost-bankrupt Lalit Modi is now a billionnaire thanks to IPL gate

 

 

According to an income tax confidential report submitted to the finance minister on Wednesday,  Lalit Modi who was till a few years ago, a business failure with a string of failed ventures, debt-ridden and almost bankrupt is now a billionnaire. His lifestyle includes a private jet, a private yatch, a fleet of Mercedes and BMW cars – not to forget dozens of lesser expensive ones – and more than two 7-star hotel suites that double up as his ‘simple accomodation’.

He is also alleged to have access to or operate several benami foreign bank accounts including some in tax havens like Mauritius and Switzerland through his proxies and associates.

 

Read what the Economic Times has to say on this subject:

‘Mr Lalit Modi has had a trail of failed ventures and defaults till four years back but has a lifestyle now that includes a private jet,

a luxury yacht and a fleet of Mercedes S class and BMW cars all acquired in the last three years.’

Thus opens a highly confidential and explosive report by the income-tax department that has been in the possession of the government for six months now but formed the basis of any action only on Thursday evening after a raging controversy over secret ownerships and sweetheart deals in the Indian Premier League, or IPL, stalled both houses of Parliament.

Highly-placed sources in the I-T department and the Congress party told ET that Mr Modi has been on the government radar for quite sometime. The alleged opaqueness with which he conducted the multi-billion dollar cricket tournament and the manner in which he took on home minister P Chidambaram in 2009 seem to have resulted in a detailed enquiry into his activities by the I-T department.

The report, whose contents were described to ET reporters, paints a startling picture of the alleged activities of the controversial IPL commissioner, ranging from his manipulation of land deals in Rajasthan and the existence of a maze of shell companies and offshore entities used to route payments and equity stakes worth hundreds of crores of rupees. The report also makes the startling allegation that Mr Modi—through his associates—was ‘involved’ in ‘betting’, while “insider information and outcome fixing of IPL matches were hinted at”. The six-month-old report, which I-T sleuths maintain is the basis of current investigations, is obviously referring to betting and insider information in the first two IPL tournaments, not the current one.

In preparing the report, investigators seem to have accessed his email account, confidential conversations on a UK-registered cell phone number and regulatory filings from across the globe, from Mauritius to Ireland to the US. Some other Indian cell phone numbers have also been unearthed which the I-T sleuths claim Mr Modi “keeps changing”. The report alleges that Mr Modi is “apparently deeply embroiled in both generation of black money, money laundering, betting in cricket (match fixing of certain IPL matches)”.

An email sent to Lalit Modi remained unanswered on Sunday evening. His lawyer was also sent the same email. A number of his associates named in the report might come under the scanner as the investigation, which started with visits to Mr Modi’s offices on Thursday evening, progresses through the coming weeks. Even though the report detailed the premises the tax department wanted to raid and sought permission to go ahead, political clearance was not granted until junior minister for external affairs Shashi Tharoor stepped into IPL’s murky quicksand and with him dragged the government and the Congress party into one of the biggest scandals in recent times.

“This is not just a Pandora’s box but a Pandora’s chest that has been opened,” said a senior Congress leader who has knowledge of the report. “This will indict everyone,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. When contacted about the contents of this report, the official spokesperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Shishir Jha, SMSed a terse ‘no comment’ to the ET reporter.

The report refers to one Deepa Raizada as a close associate of Mr Modi “who handles his cross-border transactions and offshore companies”. Ms Raizada is CEO of Modi Entertainment Networks and has worked at the firm for nearly 10 years, according to two persons who work at the company. The I-T report says she has previously worked with Equity Associates, a boutique investment firm based out of Ontario, Canada. Ms Raizada did not take calls made on her mobile number and did not respond to a text message from the ET reporter. Her home phone remained unreachable through Sunday and an email sent to an id listed under her name on the Modi Group’s website bounced.

A league of extraordinary betting?

What will come as most disturbing to cricket fans is that the report suggests pervasive betting and outcome fixing in the IPL. According to the report, Modi himself is involved through Samir Thukral, a Delhi-based “page 3 personality” with an “opulent lifestyle despite having no apparent source of income”.

Mr Thukral is a permanent fixture at all IPL matches with VIP access, the report says, adding that he “carries out the betting on behalf of Lalit Modi”. I-T sleuths are investigating “a lot of matches of IPL, especially involving the three teams in which Modi has an interest”. The mobile number listed in the report against Thukral actually belongs to Samir Thukral, a co-founder of Shree Capital Advisors, a Delhi-based private equity advisory firm.

His bio-data says he has interests in online lottery business and real estate. “I have known Lalit for 30 years and he is a good friend. And yes, of course, I went to South Africa for IPL matches, but these are wild and baseless allegations,” Mr Thukral told ET. On Sunday afternoon, Rahul Nayar, founder of Shree Capital Advisors, told ET that Mr Thukral doesn’t work for him anymore. He refused to answer other queries and hung up on ET reporters. Mr Thukral, however, maintained that he is the co-promoter of Shree Capital Advisors.

Ownership issues

The report alleges that Modi has silent ownership in three IPL teams—Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. According to the report, Rajasthan Royals’ owner Emerging Media is controlled by Manoj Badale, Mumbai Education Trust and Ranjit Thakre, a former employee of ITC Ltd. It says a 25% stake in the team is with “hidden owner” Suresh Chellaram, a Nigeria-based co-brother-in-law of Mr Modi. Manoj Badale did not respond to an email seeking comment from ET.

Incidentally, Rajasthan Royals won the first IPL tournament in 2008. The report also says Kolkata Knight Rider’s co-owner Jay Mehta, who is married to actor Juhi Chawla, is “partly fronting” for Lalit Modi. Industrialist Jay Mehta denies these allegations. According to an official response from KKR, the team is wholly-owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Mr Mehta and there are no other shareholders. “Kolkata Knight Riders is owned by Mr Shah Rukh Khan and The Sea Islands Ltd (a company incorporated in Mauritius), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mehta International Ltd—the holding company of the Mehta Group. The shareholding pattern is as follows: Mr Shah Rukh Khan-55%; Sea Islands Ltd-45%. There are no other investors in Knight Riders Sports Private Limited,” said a spokesperson of KKR.

The report claims that Modi owns a stake in Kings XI Punjab through Akash Arora, owner of Delhi-based BPO Netlink Blue. Arora is a part-owner of the team along with Ness Wadia and Mohit Burman, according to the report. “Akash does not and has never owned a stake in our team,” said Mohit Burman. He, however, declined to categorically state that 100% of the team’s ownership rests solely with himself, Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia and Karan Paul.

Mohit’s younger brother, Gaurav Burman, who is married to Lalit Modi’s stepdaughter, told ET that he also owns a stake in the Mohali team. He volunteered this information while responding to allegations in the report that he is linked to Betfair, a UK firm that runs one of the world’s largest betting syndicates on the Internet. As readers of ET would know, betting is a legal activity in the UK. The report says that according to information contained in Modi’s email account, the IPL chairman is helping Betfair, which is seeking to enter the casino and hospitality business in India.

“Gaurav Burman is to receive equity on behalf of Lalit Modi,” the report says. “This is completely baseless, I have no links whatsoever with Betfair,” Gaurav Burman told ET. From Modi’s emails, the tax department also accessed details of a transaction relating to the purchase of a luxury yacht in Malta that is to be delivered in Mumbai or Dubai.

Conflicts of interest

WSG and IMG, two companies that received BCCI contracts, are both old business partners in Modi’s own businesses. Modi Entertainment Networks runs Fashion TV in India. IMG did business with Fashion TV for years before it won the contract for managing IPL. IMG, a powerful global firm with interests in sports, media and entertainment, was to get 10% of IPL’s revenues as management fee. In July 2008, following murmurs that this was too sweet a deal, BCCI terminated the contract.

The two parties later renegotiated and IMG was back in the game with a substantially reduced fee.According to the report, WSG, which owns IPL’s overseas rights, was owed $2.5 million by Modi Entertainment Network from an earlier transaction over which Modi had lost litigation both in India and the UK. The report alleges that by awarding WSG rights at favourable terms, Modi was settling the old dues from his private business. Netlink Blue, whose owner Akash Arora is a part-owner of Kings XI Punjab, according to the report, is another firm that has received favourable BCCI contracts.

“The close links of Modi with Netlink are established through a series of emails wherein Lalit has illegally given Netlink live feeds of Australia-India series before BCCI president intervened and stopped this illegal sale of rights,” the report says. Sure enough, the favour is not without a quid pro quo. “From Netlink, a part of payoff is by way of a commitment to bail out Mr Modi’s sick venture Voyages TV through cash injection of Rs 8 crore in the form of equity,” the report says, citing emails that were available to I-T sleuths.

 

 

IPL scam: Lalit Modi purchased a private Jet, yatch and several expensive cars with illegal funds

According to reports, Lalit Modi recently purchased a private jet, several expensive cars and a yatch with illegal, ill-gotten funds. The funds were routed through various sources abroad including from tax havens like Mauritius. Lalit Modi owns a Mercedes and a BMW, besides other expensive cars, according to income tax sources.

Meanwhile according to a report in the Times of India, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s role in connection with the purchase of heritage havelis in the protected Amer Palace zone has come under the scanner of the Rajasthan government.

The Rajasthan government is mulling action against both Modi and his wife Minal, who as directors of a company, were allegedly involved in the purchase of the heritage buildings or havelis..

An inquiry by the Jaipur divisional commissioner into the issue has confirmed that the protected havelis were purchased as private properties four years back. Amer Heritage City Construction Pvt Ltd, which later changed its name to Ananda Heritage Hotels, with Lalit Modi and his wife as directors, had purchased four government havelis. Bina Kak, state tourism minister said that she had got the inquiry report.

IPL Gate: Poorrna Patel, Praful Patel accessed insider information

 

 

By Flynn Remedios – futuristicmedianetwork.wordpress.com / iplgate.wordpress.com

 NCP politician and aviation minister Praful Patel’s daughter in charge of hospitality at the IPL was sent a confidential email from Lalit Modi’s office which was later on passed on to Shashi Tharoor. According to TV reports, Poorna Patel who was in charge of hospitality had no business to posses or receive that email. While Praful Patel has vehemently denied that the email was confidential and claims that the email was routine and ‘in public domain’, it is very obvious, say reports that the email was sent to apparently mislead Tharoor and his coterie. 

Poorna Patel was as her father claimed a very junior employee at the IPL and was working for pocket money. The question is why was a junior employee was sent a valuation document received directly from the IPL Commissioner’s office. IPL CEO Sundar Raman is alleged to have sent the email on instructions from Lalit Modi to Praful Patel’s daughter Poorna Patel. He later in the day asserted that he had no idea why Poorna Patel forwarded that email to her father’s office which in turn was forwarded to Shashi Tharoor.

What the IPL CEO forgot to answer was why in the first place did he as CEO send a financial document to a junior employee in the hospitality department.

 

IPLgate: IPL officials destroying data on laptops, servers.

By Neelakshi Singh – Futuristic Media Network 

IPL officials, secretaries, managers and others are on “Operation Clean-up”, say sources. But they are not cleaning the cricket body of the scamsters and wheeler-dealers. Instead, they are destroying crucial evidence, lest it should fall into the hands of the authorities. 

According to Flynn Remedios, author of IPLgate – the mother of all cricket scams (iplgate.wordpress.com and ghotala.wordpress.com), secretaries, managers and officials have begun deleting emails and clearing the trash cans on their laptops, desktops and even computers at home. IT (Information Technology) engineers have been told to clear the cache and trash on servers, lest it lands in the hands of the government, says Flynn Remedios. This follows the leaking of crucial emails to the media including an email sent from NCP politician, bigwig and industrialist Praful Patel’s secretary to former MOS Shashi Tharoor.

 The email sent by Praful Patel’s secretary Champa Bharatwaj is a spread sheet document according to TV reports. Praful Patel obtained the mail via his daughter who works for Lalit Modi at the IPL office. Apparently Patel asked Modi to forward him the email which was then forwarded by his secretary to Shashi Tharoor. Vijay Mallaya relative also works for Lalit Modi at the IPL office, reports have claimed.

 Meanwhile IPL governing council member Mansur Ali Khan “Tiger” Patudi  has demanded that that Lalit Modi must step down. This follows a news report by CNN IBN that Lalit Modi may move the Bombay High Court praying for a stay on the meeting called by the BCCI on the 26^th April 2010.

 The scandal broke loose when Lalit Modi tweeted on Twitter releasing the shareholding pattern of the Kochi franchisee in which Shashi Tharoor’s special lady friend Sunanda Pushkar had a stake of Rs 70 crore. Praful Patel today confirmed that he had helped Shashi Tharoor with the valuation of the Kochi cricket team. But an NCP spokesperson said that Patel did not wrong and the documents were all in public domain.

The question remains that if the documents were in public domain, why did a MOS like Shashi Tharoor require Praful Patel to send it to him. He could have asked Lalit Modi for the documents directly. The documents were sent to Tharoor two days prior to the Kochi bid.