The Bombardier has been leased by Golden Wings Pvt Ltd, based in Vile Parle (east). It’s a three-year-old company owned by a Malayali Pradeep Ramchandra Thampi.
Beleaguered Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi’s ostentatious ways are not limited to having a very expensive office in the ultra-chic Four Seasons Hotel in Worli.
Guess how he travels around India and the world? In a 13-seater Bombardier Challenger 300 private aircraft. If that’s not available, then a Falcon 2000.
The Bombardier has been leased by Golden Wings Pvt Ltd, based in Vile Parle (east). It’s a three-year-old company owned by a Malayali Pradeep Ramchandra Thampi.
Golden Wings, in turn, leased the aircraft from the Dublin-based Peel Aviation Ltd and financed by the US-based Guggenheim Partners.
According to information with DNA, Peel is a shell company that is, in turn, owned by a tax haven firm called Golden Eagle. The line linking Golden Wings with Golden Eagle is the first coincidence.
Or is it? Modi’s detractors have launched a whisper campaign that the aircraft - which is often paid for from IPL’s resources — is actually owned by him, though it is shown as owned by Peel. DNA could not independently verify this.
But consider this: the Rs90 crore Bombardier carries the registration number (callsign) VT-RAK and the serial number 20174. The VT part is easy: it stands for Victor Tango, a call sign prefix for all aircraft based out of India.
But RAK can stand for anything — the name of the company or the owner. Does it represent the initials of Modi’s three children Ruchir, Aliya and Karima (a step-daughter)?
Sheer coincidence? Thampi says he has no idea if Modi is the real owner of the aircraft because Golden Wings’ lease deal starts and ends with Peel
Aviation.
“As far as I know, Modi does not own an aircraft in India,” Thampi said, adding , Modi has been chartering aircraft from him (even before Golden Wings was formed) “since the last 10-12 years”.
Peel Aviation’s purchase of the 2007 Challenger was financed by the Chicago (US)-based Guggenheim Partners, which has an office in Atlanta building in Nariman Point, Mumbai
And each time Modi/IPL uses it, the bill is fat — Rs 3 lakh per hour. “This IPL season, he may have used our aircraft for 40-50 hours,” said Thampi. “He holds a running account with us.”
If the aircraft’s ownership is linked to Modi in anyway, it means IPL is paying Modi to use his own aircraft.
Beyond the IPL season, Modi regularly takes off alone or with family. In all, sources said Modi has flown at least a 500-700 hours in the Bombardier plus Falcon in the last two to three years as he propagated the tournament and went on personal trips such as to Phuket in Thailand recently.
The math is clear: A spending in the range of Rs 15-20 crore. The plane is unavailable at least till May-end, Golden Wings said.
A person from Lalit Modi’s circle, who is aware of the existence of the Bombardier, said it was mostly being “used by his relatives and friends in north - Rajasthan and Delhi,”
Meanwhile, for office, Modi primarily operates from the 32nd floor of the tony Four Seasons Hotel in Worli, central Mumbai. Now this is actually a private club akin to Belvedere Club at The Oberoi, Mumbai.
According to sources, Modi in most likelihood occupies the Presidential Suite on the 32nd floor of the hotel. The suite is spread across an area of approximately 3,336 sq ft and is the only accommodation available on that (32nd floor) floor. The suite carries a price tag of Rs 201,070 per day + 10% tax or Rs 66 lakh a month.
DNA tried booking it for three days next week and was told it is not available till May end! Four Seasons officials were not available for comment.
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