Mumbai: Companies handling the broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League have come under the scanner of the Income Tax department even as the Enforcement Directorate is investigating the routing of funds into the cricket league from tax havens.
The Income Tax officials on Wednesday morning raided the Mumbai offices of Multi Screen Media, World Sports Group, organising agency International Management Group (IMG), and the Bandra house of WSG CEO Venu Nair.
World Sports Group had originally bagged IPL TV rights for 10 years starting 2008 with Modi reportedly dealing the facilitation fee issue.
World Sports Group is facing allegation that it received $ 80 million as facilitation fee for IPL broadcast rights from Multi Screen Media. But the company claimed on Tuesday that it had done no wrong and would take appropriate action to uphold its reputation.
"Any allegation that World Sports Group has used any funds received in connection with its sub-licence of these rights for inappropriate or unlawful activities is completely unfounded and without substance," World Sports Group said in a statement in response to media queries.
There were reports that World Sports Group, which holds IPL's overseas rights, owed $ 2.5 million to Modi Entertainment Network, and it was given rights at favourable terms by IPL commissioner Lalit Modi for settling old dues.
Strongly refuting any "impropriety" in relation to these matters, WSG said it had acquired media rights for IPL in January 2008 for 10 years following public tender process.
Sources say the I-T officials will also knock on IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi's doors as well on Friday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been putting pressure on Modi to answer the 10 questions the I-T department has posed to the cricket board.
Modi and four IPL teams are also under the Enforcement Directorate's scanner, which is investigating the source of funds allegedly routed from abroad.
Sources say prima facie evidence show that funds were routed from tax havens like Mauritius and Cayman Islands into the IPL and franchisees. Large amounts of funds are suspected to have been moved through some Mauritius-based firms set up when IPL started in 2008. The Directorate is also investigating the hawala angle involving a Rajasthan based bookie allegedly close to Modi.
The Directorate will be investigating financial transactions made by IPL, role of each franchise in making payments to IPL, sub-contracts of each franchise, mode of payments to players by these franchises, the bidding process, personal details of all franchise owners and their directors, and FERA/FEMA violations by the franchisees.
Meanwhile, the Central Excise Department has asked five players of Kings XI Punjab, including Yuvraj Singh, to furnish details of the payment received from the IPL franchise.
"We have sought details from players to furnish details regarding the payment they have received from the franchise," a senior official of Central Excise department has been quoted as saying by the PTI.
The department has already sent a notice to the owners of Kings XI Punjab on payment of service tax.
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