After the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA overturned sanctions levied on him in relation to the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) hosted in South Africa, former IPL chairman Lalit Modi declared a significant legal victory. After almost 16 years of inquiries and court cases, the decision was made.
Modi claims that the tribunal's decision that the overseas payments connected to the 2009 Indian Premier League were current account transactions rather than capital account transactions disproved the Enforcement Directorate's primary contention.
Additionally, it concluded that he had neither the financial authority claimed by the ED nor responsibility for the BCCI's FEMA compliance. Modi responded to the decision by calling it the resolution of the largest legal controversy about the 2009 Indian Premier League.
"The Tribunal has rejected the central premise on which the Enforcement Directorate's case against me had been built. It held that the principal foreign remittances relating to the staging of IPL 2009 in South Africa were current account transactions, not capital account transactions, thereby overturning the foundation of the earlier findings.
The Tribunal also found that I was neither responsible for BCCI's statutory FEMA compliance nor vested with the financial authority alleged by the Enforcement Directorate, and it has set aside the penalties imposed on me in the principal proceedings.
This marks the end of what has been the single most significant legal matter arising from the 2009 South Africa IPL. For over sixteen years, I have consistently maintained one simple position: I acted in good faith, in the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and committed no personal wrongdoing,” Lalit Modi said as per ANI.
Lalit Modi stated that for over sixteen years, he has constantly maintained that he behaved "in good faith, in the best interests of Indian cricket and the IPL, and committed no personal wrongdoing".
Additionally, Modi clarified that the tournament had to be moved to South Africa because it could not be held at home due to India's national elections.
"The successful staging of that season ensured that the IPL survived and ultimately became one of the world's most valuable sporting properties. Throughout these proceedings, I have cooperated with the legal process and remained confident that the facts and the law would ultimately prevail,” Modi stated.
Thanking his supporters, he expressed gratitude to "my legal team, my family, my friends and the many people who continued to believe in me during what has been an extraordinarily long journey."
Calling the ruling bigger than a personal victory, Modi said, "This judgment is not simply personal vindication. It reaffirms the importance of due process, objective legal analysis, and the principle that allegations must ultimately be tested against evidence and law. I have always believed that time is the greatest judge. Today, after more than sixteen years, that process has spoken."
