- Lalit Modi announced his return to India after 14 years following a favorable tribunal verdict
- The SAFEMA tribunal set aside most Enforcement Directorate penalties in the 2009 IPL South Africa case
- He said he will return to India by early next year
Buoyed by a favourable tribunal verdict, Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi has announced his return to India, 14 years after he exited the country amid a corruption scandal.
The Appellate Tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators - Forfeiture of Property - Act (SAFEMA) on Tuesday set aside most of the Enforcement Directorate's findings and penalties in the 2009 IPL South Africa FEMA case.
Referring to the ruling, Modi, who lives abroad, said his 16-year-long legal fight has come to fruition.
He said in a video that he is planning his return to India on Wednesday.
"I'm really happy with the verdict yesterday. It's really been a great day. 16 years, I have fought, and whatever I have been saying to the media and to everybody has finally emerged as the truth. I'm really happy that the tribunal has ruled in my favour. I was only concerned with the well-being of the IPL and nothing at all. That is the most dear to me. Now that chapter is behind me, I'm going to move on in my life, and I'm looking forward to coming back to India. I will come back probably at the end of this year or early next year. My daughter is due with my grandson in October, and hopefully everything will be well, and I'll be back in India," he said in the video, accessed by news agency ANI.
Tribunal Chairman Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and member Rajesh Malhotra partly allowed the appeals against the ED's 2018 order, which had imposed penalties on BCCI, Lalit Modi, N Srinivasan, M P Pandove, the State Bank of India and its former Chief Manager AK Nazeer Khan for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The Enforcement Directorate, which probes money laundering, had alleged that the BCCI violated FEMA rules by shifting the 2009 IPL season to South Africa. The probe agency said that the foreign exchange rules were violated while sending money abroad for organising the tournament.
Also read: Lalit Modi Cleared In Key 2009 IPL South Africa Case After Tribunal Verdict
The Tribunal upheld two of its findings -- the penalty of Rs 4 crore on BCCI for remitting an amount higher than what was reflected in its books of accounts and a delay in bringing ticket sale money back to India. However, it brought the amount down from Rs 4 crore to Rs 1 crore.
The Tribunal, however, set aside the penalty imposed on Lalit Modi over delayed repatriation. It noted that Modi had already been suspended as the IPL commissioner when the money was brought back to India and was no longer in charge.
Also read: "Not A Fugitive, Why Does Rahul Gandhi Target Me?" Asks Lalit Modi
The tournament had moved to South Africa because it coincided with the general elections.
The cricket board had moved funds to the country, which the probe agency considered a contravention of the foreign exchange law.
In its 105-page order, the bench noted, "The penalty imposed on Lalit Modi is wholly erroneous and is thus interfered with."
Lalit Modi issued a statement saying he had done nothing wrong.
"For over sixteen years I have consistently maintained one simple position: I acted in good faith, in the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and committed no personal wrongdoing. This judgment is not simply personal vindication. It reaffirms the importance of due process, objective legal analysis and the principle that allegations must ultimately be tested against evidence and law," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
