PMLA court issues letters rogatory to Mauritius, Singapore in Lalit Modi case

The special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases has issued letters rogatory (LR) to Singapore and Mauritius in connection with the case registered by Enforcement Directorate against former IPL boss Lalit Modi.

"The special court has issued LR to both the countries in the case registered against Lalit Modi in Mumbai," said an ED official. A letter rogatory is a formal request from a court in India to a foreign court for judicial assistance.

"We had sought LR as we want the details of bank accounts, transactions, etc., in connection with the 2008 deal between World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) for television rights of Indian Premier League worth Rs 425 crore," the official said.

The LR would be sent through the Union Home Ministry. In 2008, BCCI had awarded IPL media rights for ten years to WSG for US $918 million. WSG entered into a deal with MSM to make Sony (a channel owned by MSM) the official broadcaster. The contract was replaced a year later with a nine-year deal.

ED started a probe in 2009 under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to investigate whether the payment of Rs 425 crore facilitation fee by MSM Singapore to WSG Mauritius was made illegally.