The Appellate Tribunal, operating under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA), recently overturned the majority of the findings and penalties imposed by the Enforcement Directorate in this matter, providing significant relief to Modi after a legal struggle that has lasted over 16 years.
In response to the ruling, Modi expressed satisfaction, stating it confirmed his belief that he had acted with the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL in mind.
“I am truly pleased with the verdict from yesterday. It has been a remarkable day for me. For sixteen years, I have fought this battle, and what I have consistently communicated to the media and everyone has now been validated as the truth,” Modi said in a video obtained by ANI.
The IPL founder, who has resided overseas since 2010, indicated plans to return to India either later this year or early next year.
“Now that chapter is behind me, I will move forward in my life and eagerly anticipate my return to India. I expect to come back by the end of this year or in early next year. My daughter is expecting my grandson in October, and I hope everything will go smoothly so I can return to India,” he added.
The tribunal, led by Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and member Rajesh Malhotra, partially approved the appeals against the Enforcement Directorate’s 2018 order, which had assigned penalties to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Lalit Modi, former BCCI president N. Srinivasan, M.P. Pandove, the State Bank of India, and its former Chief Manager A.K. Nazeer Khan over alleged FEMA violations linked to the relocation of the 2009 IPL to South Africa.
The Enforcement Directorate had claimed that the BCCI breached foreign exchange regulations while transferring funds abroad to organize the tournament after it was moved from India due to the 2009 general elections.
While the tribunal upheld two findings against the BCCI concerning the remittance of amounts higher than what was documented in its records and delays in returning ticket sale proceeds, it significantly reduced the penalty from ₹4 crore to ₹1 crore.
However, the tribunal entirely dismissed the penalty levied against Lalit Modi for the delayed repatriation of funds, noting that he had been suspended as IPL commissioner by the time the money was brought back to India and was no longer in charge of the tournament’s operations.
In its 105-page decision, the tribunal remarked that the penalty placed on Modi was completely unfounded and therefore should be annulled.
Previously, Modi welcomed the judgment, emphasizing that it expressed the principles of due process and justice grounded in evidence.
“For over sixteen years, I have steadfastly maintained one straightforward position: I acted in good faith, prioritizing the interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and I committed no personal wrongful acts. This ruling is not merely personal vindication; it reinforces the significance of due process, objective legal analysis, and the notion that allegations must ultimately be substantiated by evidence and law,” he stated.
