In 2008, WSG, Singapore bagged IPL television rights for 10 years with a $918 million bid and a promise to spend $108 million on publicity of the event. It also signed a deal with MSM, making Sony the official broadcaster.
I-T officials investigating the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees on Thursday were in for a surprise.
Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot, who unsuccessfully bid for an IPL team, sent a copy of his firm’s bid document to the Income Tax department. I-T officials said the company sent them a copy though the department had neither called nor issued summons seeking details.
“Our main focus is to know about the current franchisees and their source of funding. As per the normal practice, a company/bidder would give sweat equity to a beneficiary when he would have won the bid. Why would a bidder want to mention the benefits he is giving an unknown entity to attract attention,” said a senior I-T official.
Earlier in the day, the department searched and surveyed the premises of IPL linked sports companies. They were Multi-Screen Media (MSM) in suburban Malad, the telecasting agency of IPL, World Sports Group (WSG), the marketing agency of IPL, International Management Group (IMG), the organising agency, and the Bandra home of Venu Nair, CEO of WSG. The searches came after allegations that MSM (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) had paid a ‘facilitation fee’ of $80 million to WSG.
In 2008, WSG, Singapore bagged IPL television rights for 10 years with a $918 million bid and a promise to spend $108 million on publicity of the event. It also signed a deal with MSM, making Sony the official broadcaster.
However, two months prior to the IPL-2, the deal was scrapped. It was recast with MSM agreeing to pay $1.63 billion for nine years. According to I-T sources, MSM agreed to pay WSG’s offshore company in Mauritius a ‘facilitation fee’ of 7.5% of the IPL contract, which is around $80 million.
On April 14, 2009, MSM remitted, from the Development Bank of Singapore to WSG $15.3 million and on June 26, 2009, $10.276 million in two separate installments, sources said. When BCCI learnt of the deal, they summoned Nair, but did not investigate the matter, said I-T officials.
As per rules, the deal has TDS amounting to roughly Rs120 crore of Rs400 crore deal was payable to the government.
Meanwhile, corporate giant Adani said it had not offered any sweat equity to any Union minister or their kin to secure a T20 cricket team.
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