BCCI officials questioned over IPL irregularities

NEW DELHI - Top officials of the Indian cricket board were Wednesday quizzed by a parliamentary committee about alleged financial irregularities in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), a highly popular Twenty20 cricketing extravaganza.

Those who deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, include board president Shashank Manohar, secretary N. Srinivasan and IPL chairman Chirayu Amin.

The officials of the Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) were asked to clarify on matters related to alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in the management and conduct of the IPL.

Parliament sources said the BCCI officials were asked about the funding pattern of the league and about the methods used to pay foreign cricket players.

The committee is looking at a government report that some IPL franchisees had received funding from organisations and individuals based in foreign countries like Mauritius and Bahamas.

“BCCI officials were asked if they knew about the government report and why the BCCI didn’t take approval from the Reserve Bank of India and other agencies for the foreign exchange transactions,” an official told IANS.

Clarifications were also sought on the ownership and shareholding pattern of IPL franchisees as investments in certain cases, it has been found, were made by some individuals and entities and shares issued in the names of others.

“The panel also asked the BCCI to provide it with the financial details of the second edition of the IPL held in South Africa in 2009,” the official said.

The alleged financial irregularities in the IPL had rocked the last budget session of parliament with opposition parties calling it a “betting and gambling ring” where black money was being “white-washed”.

Demanding a ban on IPL, opposition parties wanted the government to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the sources of funding of franchisees. The government rejected the demand.

The issue had led to the resignation of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as the minister of state for external affairs because his wife, Sunanda Pushkar, who was not married to him at that time, was given sweat equity in Rendezvous Sports World, the IPL franchisee for Kochi.

Tharoor had mentored Rendezvous in raising the Kochi franchisee for the fourth edition of the league to be played later this year.