MUMBAI: Former Indian Premier league (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has accused the Indian government of creating a false impression that he has been trying to evade questioning by authorities on financial transactions of IPL.

Modi has been staying in the UK since 14 May 2010, after the government launched a probe against IPL?s finances.

Modi, in a statement, said he was forced to leave the country when the security provided to him by the police was suddenly withdrawn. He also alleged that the establishment started hitting back at him with a vengeance after his disclosure about Sunanda Pushkar, then Shashi Tharoor?s fianc? and now wife, holding sweat equity in the Kochi franchise of IPL. The disclosure had led to the resignation of Tharoor, the then Minister of State for External Affairs. Tharoor was recently re-inducted as Minister of State for Human Resource Development.

"A series of investigations were started by income tax authorities and after some days I found that without any prior warning, the security cover was suddenly withdrawn leaving me and my family exposed to serious risk to life. I was, in these circumstances, left with no option but to move out of India on the morning of 14th May 2010. Before my security cover was withdrawn, I had co-operated completely with income tax authorities and given my detailed response to BCCI?s show cause notice," he said.

"At this point, the Enforcement Directorate was not even in the picture. The Enforcement Directorate issued its first summons to me on 2 August 2010 seeking certain documents pertaining to IPL contracts and asking me to attend their offices in person. All the documents sought were duly supplied by me. In view of the security risk to me in India I requested that I should answer any questions by way of an interrogatory questionnaire or appear on video link or get to be questioned in person in the Indian High Commission in the UK. These were all valid modes under the law for co-operating but the ED chose to ignore all of them."

Modi says the reports in the Indian press suggesting that the Ministry for External Affairs is requesting assistance from the UK authorities to enforce his return to India for questioning are based on innuendo and mis-information. "The intention is clearly to suggest I am avoiding official requests to co-operate and to give the perception that I therefore have something to hide. The truth of the matter is very different."

He said the tax enforcement wings of the Indian Government, namely Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate (ED) acting under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) started making enquiries without any formal complaint.

"This created the perception that some contravention may have been committed. It resulted in a smoke screen of unsubstantiated and uncorroborated allegations from doctored and selective leaks to the media so that in the ensuing media trial, the objective and hard facts take a back seat. There is no power of arrest or custodial interrogation either under investigations taken under Income Tax Act or Fema and therefore requirement of physical presence can be dispensed with," Modi said.

"However, an impression was sought to be created as if some offence has been committed by me for which I need to be brought to - and questioned in - India. The ED and the Income Tax department come under the Ministry of Finance. For quite some time now I have been making public my views through Twitter regarding the impropriety of re-inducting Mr Shashi Tharoor. The timing of the demand to enforce my return (to India) needs to be viewed in that perspective."

Modi pointed out that along with him other BCCI officials were also party to the Show Cause notices issued by the ED.

"This is not true. The Show Cause notices issued by the ED in 2011 and 2012 were distributed to up to 10 recipients. These include the BCCI itself as well as individuals including current President, N. Srinivasan, S. Manohar, M. Pandove, R. Shetty. These recipients, like me, were officers of the BCCI at the time the investigation is focused upon. I am included in my capacity as IPL Chairman. However the fact that I had no financial powers is entirely ignored," Modi stated.

He also points to the suggestion that the Ministry of Finance wishes to pursue "issues" regarding his own financial transactions. He counters saying that the Show Cause Notices do not, at any point, indicate they are pursuing personal allegations against him individually.

"As a former Chairman of the IPL I have been asked to respond to information contained within the Show Cause Notices relating to the activities of the IPL, a tournament which is run under the auspices of the BCCI and governed by the BCCI accordingly. The IPL Committee has no independent jurisdiction and all matters relating to IPL finances and general conduct ultimately rest within the BCCI and are jointly controlled by the Treasurer and Secretary of the BCCI. My involvement in the investigation has been requested in order to assist the overall investigation. It is not an investigation into Lalit Modi."

He said that the Enforcement Directorate had issued four show cause notices and he has given detailed replies explaining his position. "All these notices state that I can appear through my representative - either a chartered accountant or a lawyer. However no date of any hearing has ever been given by the ED in the last two years.

"On 3rd September 2012, I presented my latest response to various Show Cause Notices in a letter to the Special Director of the Enforcement Directorate. This 46 page document and associated annexures, formed a preliminary reply that was provided to confirm to the authorities my full commitment to my co-operation. In the letter sent through my lawyers, we confirmed that we were prepared to provide an even more detailed response when in receipt of the important, additional documentation we had requested from the E.D. to aid our task of responding. These documents have never been received."

He adds that death threats, relating to any return to India, are still being made as were reported recently in a section of Pakistani media. "The Authorities are aware of the ongoing status of the threats and they have made it clear they cannot guarantee my personal safety or that of my family, if I were to return."

He adds that the revocation of his Passport is an arbitrary and unnecessary infringement of my personal rights and liberty. "It is an act I am challenging through the courts and is therefore sub judice."

MUMBAI: Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman, commissioner Lalit Modi has said that allegations levelled in show cause notices by the ED for alleged forex law violations of over Rs 13.10 billion in the conduct of the second edition of the event in South Africa concerned "collective responsibilities" rather than being personal.

"The Enforcement Directorate (ED) show cause notices reveal that ED has been investigating alleged violations under Fema in relation to BCCI contracts and in respect of the general conduct of the IPL.

"The allegations reflect collective responsibilities rather than personal responsibilities. It is significant to note that the Enforcement Directorate has not identified any specific contravention under Fema committed by our client," a legal firm representing Modi said in its reply to the Directorate.

The 11 notices were issued by the ED against BCCI, Modi and six others for alleged contravention of Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) involving about Rs 13.17 billion in November last year in connection with the conduct of IPL in South Africa during 2009.

"My responses to the show cause notices show my commitment to complying with all requests made to me by the authorities in order to clear my name of any association with these investigations," Modi said.

He said the notices are to establish whether or not an inquiry should be held for the purpose of making an adjudication.

"I continue to remain confident that I have done nothing to warrant the continued investigation of my role as chairman of the IPL," Modi, who is in London, said.

Last month, the ED slapped show cause notices on Modi, officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and HDFC Bank for contravention of Fema regulations to the tune of Rs. 600 million while awarding various contracts.

"This week, I have presented my reply to the Directorate of Enforcement?s 11 Show Cause notices relating to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). In simple terms, the act requires certain foreign exchange transactions to be approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the current investigations surround the potential contravention of the law in the BCCI?s dealings with Cricket South Africa [CSA) for IPL 2. The ED delivered the notices to several recipients including me and in doing so they gave me an opportunity to fully reflect the activities surrounding the tournament in South Africa. I have always said I have nothing to hide".

He has also said that there was no direct allegation against him and he chose to receive the notices so he could explain the issues.

" Within the 11 notices I have received, there is not one single allegation against me personally. I was, of course part of the IPL at the time and that is why I regard the receipt of the notices as an opportunity to explain the issues at hand and, in doing so, clarify the innermost workings of the BCCI at the very highest level. It?s also worth noting that I voluntarily received the Show Cause notices in order to do so."

The allegations are related to the second edition of the IPL in 2009, which was shifted to South Africa after failing to get security clearance to stage the event in India.

According to Modi?s reply, all activities of IPL had approval of the Governing Council, headed by him and involving members of the BCCI.

"All activities of IPL are acts that have documented approval from collective Governing Council or Working Committee Meetings in accordance with BCCI/IPL process.

"Our client has earlier provided documentary evidence to the complainant which illustrate collective council or board approval for all activities. Thus, no action of our client can be termed as unauthorised, unilateral actions on his behalf," the reply said.

Modi said that IPL like any other committee of BCCI for example finance committee, legal committee or marketing committee is merely to assist and aid the BCCI.

"The members of such Committees including the chairman thereof cannot be said to be person in-charge or responsible to the BCCI for the conduct of business of the BCCI.

This is so because IPL is merely a sub-committee of the BCCI and has no control over the affairs of BCCI rather it is controlled by BCCI. IPL also has no say upon any financial drawings, disbursements or remittances as such matters are controlled by persons who are incharge of BCCI namely the president, the secretary and the treasurer. IPL does not also have any separate existence".

He said the ED is investigating claims that the BCCI made payments to Cricket South Africa (CSA) and administered an account in South Africa without the necessary permissions required under Fema.

"At the time, I was, of course, IPL Chairman. As a sub-committee of the BCCI, the IPL does not have an independent existence or any financial drawing or disbursement powers. All accounts are operated by the BCCI. When it became clear that IPL 2 couldn?t take place in India because of security issues relating to the elections, we made the collective decision to take the tournament to either England [ Images ] or South Africa. That decision was taken at a meeting of the BCCI Working Committee on 22nd March, 2009. During the meeting, it was also agreed that an overseas event meant that a  new bank account would be required somewhere abroad to take care of all financial considerations and that, in accordance with the constitution, the Secretary of the BCCI, should seek clearance from the RBI".

He was following the instructions of BCCI president N Srinivasan, when it came to setting up of the bank account in South Africa. "On 25th March, I was one of several recipients of an e-mail sent by the then Secretary, Mr. N Srinivasan, which explained that RBI policies in South Africa meant the accounting set up would need to follow the methods adopted by the ICC during international tournaments. Specifically, this meant that CSA would administer the account on behalf of the BCCI with the latter making payments to balance the transactions. As was reflected in the meeting on 29th March, the appropriate BCCI offices were required to ensure all regulatory processes were adhered to. That is a singular responsibility, which constitutionally rests with the Secretary in association with the Treasurer.

"Significantly, however, it was Mr. Srinivasan?s view that because the IPL 2 account was now going to be operated by CSA, any transfer of funds would be covered under current account transactions and would not require RBI approval."

Modi was also surprised that the BCCI has said that IPL 2.0 was owned by South Africa.

"I was surprised to learn that the BCCI in its reply to ED is now portraying IPL 2 as a CSA-owned tournament in its own responses to the Show Cause notices. This is just untrue. IPL 2 was a BCCI tournament all along. The fact is that throughout the tournament, CSA administered the accounts, but was not authorised to make ANY unilateral payments from the account as the money was regarded as BCCI funds. Any transaction required BCCI authorisation and CSA was considered a service provider for which fees were paid. For additional clarity on this point, it?s important to note that all vendors, contractors and suppliers were selected and appointed by the BCCI. It?s therefore interesting to consider why the BCCI is now painting a different picture."

"For the record, I had no transactional mandate, nor any cheque signing powers" He said that should not be held responsible for any wrongdoings as all decisions were taken by the then secretary Srinivasan.

"Everyone knows the tournament was an outstanding success. The CSA and the South African people embraced the event in a manner that was beyond our wildest dreams and IPL 2 brought in exceptional revenue for the BCCI - and consequently for India. The route for all funds was administered in accordance with the agreed principles. As Chairman of the IPL I created the tournament, while the Treasurer operated the accounting process and at all times, only did so following approval by the Secretary. It has been standard practice for the BCCI that all Fema compliances and RBI approvals are required to be actioned from the Treasurer?s office but in turn all decisions and approvals in respect of the IPL, which had any financial implication, or required the drawing or disbursing of funds - including RBI approvals - were taken by the then Secretary. For the record, I had no transactional mandate, nor any cheque signing powers.

"So these are the salient points I have reflected in my reply to the ED. It is important for me to explain the matter publicly because on 15th September, the BCCI meets in Chennai when they will apparently discuss the issue of changing the constitution to allow longer terms for officials - including of course, those currently in office. That meeting will take place under a cloud of issues that the cricket fans of India are awaiting answers to. It?s up to you to work out wether or not, they deserve your patience any longer."

Modi adds that the BCCI meets in Chennai next weekend, knowing that it has many problems to solve and the list appears to be getting longer and longer by the day. "The Deccan Chargers issue is the latest problem that?s dragging the IPL through the mud, but as well as that, sponsors are fleeing and new partners appear reticent to jump on board a ship that the beleaguered crew is finding harder and harder to steer."

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today issued a show cause notice to the BCCI for alleged foreign exchange violations regarding the Indian Premier League (IPL)

The BCCI had accepted deposits of Rs 600 million for conducting the second season which had been shifted to South Africa. There was a performance deposit of Rs 200 million from Emerging Media Sporting Holdings Ltd, UK (bidding for IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals) and Rs 400 million from MSM Satellite (Singapore) Pte Ltd (bidding for TV broadcast contract).

The notices have been issued to former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, BCCI president N Srinivasan, former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah and HDFC Bank.

Reports add that in addition to imposition of penalties, the show cause notice also proposes confiscation of these deposits of Rs 600 million.

Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer said, " This money was a performance deposit given before we won the franchise. We sent it from abroad as there was no company formed here. All parties who bid for a franchise had to deposit Rs. 200 million. The Enforcement Directorate had questioned us on this issue last year and we replied to them."

MUMBAI: That the Indian Premier League is undoubtedly the biggest cricket and television property in the country is a given. However, what is also given is the fact that the tournament?s image has been severely dented due to allegations of spot fixing and match fixing.

As per the ?IPL 2012 Public Perception Survey?, which was conducted from 4-9 June by leading digital media company Yahoo! India, over 68.9 per cent respondents believe that IPL players are involved in fixing matches while 57.3 per cent believe that Indian players are also involved in unholy nexus.

The survey conducted on Yahoo! Cricket saw participation from 18,537 respondents.

The respondents also feel that IPL players are overpaid with almost 79.1 per cent respondents echoing that the IPL cricketers are paid more than what they actually deserve.

The survey throws up even more damaging findings with 66.6 per cent respondents saying that cricketers receive ?under the table? payments to play the game, while 14.4 per cent disagreeing with that notion. About 19 per cent respondents were unaware of the subject.

However, it?s not all gloom and doom for the IPL as 61.5 per cent respondents believe that the IPL format has had a positive effect on Indian cricket.

The respondent have also given thumbs down to IPL team owners with 60.1 per cent saying that the high-profile owners should rather low profile during or after. However, 36 per cent respondents also feel that team owners should be allowed to enter the stadia premises.

Should former IPL chairman Lalit Modi ever make a comeback to run the IPL show again? Well, the opinion is sharply divided with only 37.5 per cent in favor of the maverick cricket administratior?s return while a majority of 48.2 per cent are not in favour of his return.

More than half of the respondents also feel that IPL is responsible for players getting exposed to injuries.

Furthermore, the respondents were against cricketers skipping tests and ODI?s to play the IPL matches, with a whopping 92 per cent majority voting against players favouring clubs over country.

Respondents were also in favour of introducing the popular concept of player loaning similar to basketball, baseball, soccer and other sports with 41.5 per cent favouring such a rule in IPL. 56.5 per cent people are in favour of two strategic time-outs in every IPL innings.

The commentators have also been lauded by fans with 44.9 per cent thinking that cricket commentators have overall done a good job in IPL 2012.

Ravi Shastri takes the crown as the best commentator with 30.5 per cent majority, followed by Harsha Bhogle per cent and Danny Morrison 18.4 per cent.

Navjot Singh Sidhu 34.4 per cent, Ajay Jadeja 11.7 per cent, and Rameez Raja 9.8 per cent are voted as the least popular commentators this season.