The Board of Control for Cricket in India has scrapped all its IPL media rights agreements with Mauritius-based World Sport Group, claiming that MSM Satellite (Singapore) Pvt Ltd is the rightful owner of all media rights relating to the Twenty20 event.
The BCCI has invalidated all its deals with WSG following revelations that the latter received US $80 million (Rs 425 crore) as "facilitation fee" from MSM for getting back the Indian sub-continent media rights of IPL in March 2009, according to Board sources.
The deals with WSG were scrapped by BCCI after MSM had last week agreed to pay it Rs 300 crore plus the remaining amount of Rs 125 crore, which it has already paid to WSG, after initiating legal action against the Mauritius firm.
None of the BCCI's top brass was available for comment as they are currently attending the International Cricket Council's (ICC) annual conference in Singapore.
None from WSG's Mumbai office was also available for reacting to BCCI's move of terminating all the deals with it.
Last week the BCCI's Governing Council meeting approved an amended Media Rights Agreement with MSM, which had agreed to pay Rs 425 crore "facilitation fee" to WSG on March 25, but the Board later contended that the money rightfully belonged to it.
