A special PMLA court on request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh Letter of Rogatory or Letter of Request (LR) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with a money launder
A special PMLA court on request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh Letter of Rogatory or Letter of Request (LR) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with a money laundering case registered against Lalit Modi, former commissioner, Indian Premiere League (IPL).
A LR is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some kind of judicial assistance. This is the third LR issued against Modi in the case and earlier, the court had issued LRs against him to Singapore and Mauritius. Apart from the LR, the court has also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Modi. The LR will be sent to the respective country through the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Special PMLA judge P.R. Bhavake in his order said, “Issue LR to the competent authority in UAE to examine facts and circumstances of the case and to take such steps as mentioned in the LR and to forward all the evidence so taken or collected to this court.” The judge further ordered that the LR be issued in such a manner as specified by the central government.
The ED earlier moved court seeking issuance of a LR to UAE in connection with the 2008 deal between World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) for television rights of the IPL worth Rs 425 crore. BCCI had registered a FIR in Chennai in 2010 under various provisions of the IPC and two years later, the ED registered a case under PMLA.
The deal dates back to 2008 when BCCI awarded 10-year media rights to WSG on payment of $918 million. The same year, WSG also entered into a deal with MSM to make Sony the official broadcaster. The contract was replaced a year later with a nine-year deal where MSM paid $1.63 billion.
