 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Charges against Modi range from rigging in bids to behaviour issues
Board of Control for Cricket in India president Shashank Manohar on Monday revealed the complete details on Lalit Modi's alleged wrongdoing and reasons for his suspension as commissioner of the Indian Premier League.
"The charges basically are with regards to the initial bids of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. The second allegation has to do with the broadcasting deal. The other allegations are with regards to the rigging of bids of the two new franchisees and inconsistencies in securing the internet rights. And last allegation is with regards to the behavioural pattern of Mr Modi," Manohar said, at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, after a two-hour meeting of the IPL governing council.
Modi was issued a showcause notice and suspended from all his posts by the Board after the IPL final on Sunday.
He was also forced to relinquish his post as BCCI vice-president, BCCI's marketing and finance committee member, BCCI's chairman tour and fixtures committee, Champions League Twenty20 chairman and chairman of marketing and finance committee for the 2011 World Cup.
The governing council also appointed Baroda Cricket Association president Chirayu Amin as interim president of the IPL.
To a question whether charges of betting and match-fixing were included in the chargesheet sent to Modi, Manohar replied: "No."
Irregularities in Rajasthan Royals' bidding process
Explaining the irregularities in the initial bids of Rajasthan Royals, Manohar said: "A UK-based company, going by the name of Emerging Media IPL, was owned by a single individual -- Manoj Badale. The company started four months prior to the bid. Later, when he bid for a team his bid was accepted. However, the agreement is signed with Jaipur IPL.
"There is an interesting fact to be noted: this is a company wherein there were only two stakeholders at the time the agreement was signed. The two stakeholders were Castellino and Bal Thakur. Now, the bid was given by A, but the document was signed by B, who had nothing to do with the bid.
Then separate companies came in, who were registered in Mauritius. Now, we don't know."
Interestingly, he further pointed out that Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra's name didn't feature as Rajasthan Royals owners in the shareholders' register.
"Modi made a statement that the entire world knows (who the stakeholders are) in the franchises are but even members of the governing council are not aware. As I said, in the Rajasthan Royals franchise, Jaipur IPL is the main company. Their shares were then sold and transferred... of these two people to certain individuals and certain companies, like Tresco and Blue Waters.
"Nobody knows what BlueWaters is and what Tresco is. Now, I did not find in the shareholders' register the names of Mr Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty who claim to be the stakeholders," he said.
BCCI were unaware of transfer of ownership of Royals
The BCCI chief said that while transferring the ownership, Rajasthan consulted only Modi, while the IPL governing council was unaware of the developments. The IPL commissioner is also accused of not paying the five percent transaction fee to the BCCI, which is charged when the transfer of ownership takes place within a franchise.
"And there is a clause in the 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 board is entitled to have five percent of the amount of the transaction as their fees.
"Now, nothing of this has happened. So we are asking an explanation if A gives the bid, how do you sign an agreement with B. How do all these people get into this? None of us are aware and we don't know who these companies are," clarified Manohar.
Kings XI Punjab also in ownership row
And same was the case with the Kings XI Punjab, whose owners changed once the franchise was purchased in 2008.
"When the bids were given, it was signed only by Preity Zinta. She said she will form a consortium with three people -- Mohit Burman, one Mr 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 signing of the agreement. Then Mr Gaurav Burman gets in and the rest. Again, the same logic applies here -- you need to have the consent of the IPL and the fee must be paid during the transfer. But, once again, nothing of this sort happened," said Manohar.
Shedding light on the charges levied against Modi with regard to his behaviour, Manohar said the IPL chief was also guilty of leaking confidential information to the media.
"It was about the confidential information of the Board being leaked to the media. I have always maintained that the Board functions within the four walls of this building. If you have to leak everything to the media then you might as well hold this meeting at the Oval ground," the BCCI chief fumed.
BCCI within rights to suspend Modi
Manohar said he last spoke to the former IPL commissioner last week asking him to convene a Governing Council meeting to clarify the charges, but Modi didn't budge.
"I was never persuading him to attend the meeting because it is his choice. I had only asked him on April 19 to convene the meeting, which he did not do till April 21. Therefore, I called up the secretary and asked him to convene the meeting. Thereafter, I had no discussions with him," he said.
Manohar also added that the Board was well within its rights to suspend Modi and they had broken no rules to do the same.
"There are two provisions: 32 (2) where you have to appoint a commissioner who prepares a report. Based on that report we issue a showcause notice followed by an enquiry. The other one is 32 (4) is specifically for administrators and members where a showcause can be noticed and under 32 (7) there is a provision to suspend the individual."
Finally, the BCCI president thanked the media for their role in exposing Modi.
"This all came because of all you people; I am grateful and thankful to you."