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DDCA audit finds fraud, but whitewashes Arun Jaitley

Rs 14 crore was embezzled in 2012-15

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A forensic audit, ordered by the Delhi High Court-appointed administrator Justice (retd) Vikramjit Sen, has unearthed a Rs 14-crore fraud in the functioning of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) between 2012 and 2015.

Auditors have found double entries, fictitious payments, unauthorised loans, nepotism and favouritism — among other reasons — for the massive financial embezzlement.

The report has indicted former DDCA president Sneh Bansal and former secretary Anil Khanna for purchasing match tickets with cheques from the association without the knowledge of the Executive Committee. But there is no mention of Arun Jaitley, who remained DDCA president between 1999 and 2013.

This has led former India skipper Bishan Singh Bedi and 1983 World Cup winning team member Kirti Azad to call for a forensic audit of his tenure, which included the construction period of Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium between 2002 and 2008, and also when subvention money along with TV rights money of IPL were received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), between 2008 and 2012.

Jaitley had washed his hands of the issue during a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Organisation (SFIO) by saying, "I was a mere non-executive president of DDCA and I had nothing to do with the day-to-day functioning of DDCA".

DNA, in its report on January 15, 2016, had cited minutes of various DDCA meetings which went on to show that during his tenure Jaitley not only was in control of DDCA affairs, but also attended the meetings held at various venues, including his office premises at Udyog Bhawan (during his tenure as Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice in the NDA government).

"Public should know how its money is being spent so lavishly on building a lousy stadium in the Indian capital," said Azad.

"Kotla stadium was started with an estimate of Rs 24 crore which first went up to Rs 57 crore before finishing at Rs 141 crore or even more," Azad added.

The BCCI has not been releasing DDCA's share of subvention money, Rs 100 crore approximately, for the last three years amid complaints by Delhi cricketers' body. The reason given for this was that DDCA had not been filing its balance sheets with the Registrar of Companies.

"We are waiting for the CBI or Delhi Police to act on our complaints. Hopefully, this forensic report will nail these officials who have ripped DDCA apart. It hurts to see talented boys sweating it out in the heat and cold, whereas the administrators are busy lining their pockets," said Azad.

Audit Findings

The forensic audit report found that at DDCA's expense, officials purchased tickets worth Rs 2.3 crores, of Rs 130 each. Out of this, Rs 75 lakh of IPL tickets were shown to be issued to government officials and DDCA Executive Committee members and tickets of Rs 1.01 crore during an India vs West Indies ODI. Another instance shows how, between April 30 and June 8, 2012, a sum of Rs 44 lakh was withdrawn and used for purchase of IPL tickets despite the fact that DDCA receives complimentary tickets from ticket vendors such as GMR.

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