May.02, 2010

NEW DELHI: Indian sleuths have turned to foreign money inflow for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees in a bid to unearth possible “benami” (ostensible) entities trying to route their black money through some of the tax havens abroad.

Suspicions of money laundering and tax evasion arose when the main owners of the Rajasthan Royals made repeated applications to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to allow it to issue shares against a foreign equity of $5.82 million. The Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited, who are the main owners of the Rajasthan Royals, had moved applications twice in October last year and again in March this year to allow for foreign equity, but without success.

Foreign investors: Sources in the Enforcement Directorate told Daily Times that RBI had been approached to reveal details of foreign investors, whether allowed or disallowed, in not only Rajasthan Royals but also in all other IPL franchisee to ascertain any violation of Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act (FEMA).

Details: Similar notices have also gone out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as well as the Income Tax Department to provide details of the foreign equity in the IPL franchisees who were required to make declarations in this regard to the board and also in their income tax returns. The concerned registrars of companies had been approached earlier to provide the statutory reports filed by the franchisee companies on original owners and any subsequent changes in the ownership of the shares.

In its letter to the RBI, the Enforcement Directorate referred to Jaipur IPL Private Limited approaching it for permission to issue shares to certain overseas entities against remittances received by the company.

“It is requested that the copies of the application/correspondence with M/s Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd may kindly be forwarded to this directorate... you are also requested to kindly inform this directorate whether any other team owner/franchisee has approached RBI with a similar request. If so, the copies of the application/correspondence made by the said team owners/franchisees may kindly be forwarded to this directorate for further necessary action at this end. Correspondence, if any, with the BCCI with regarded to the IPL may also be forwarded to the directorate,” the Enforcement Directorate’s letter to the RBI stated.