Former IPL boss Lalit Modi not planning return to India

[DesiGuy]

Lalit Modi is not in hiding but will not consider returning to India to answer charges of corruption in the Indian Premier League which he founded.

He made a rare public appearance at the International Sports Event Management Conference in London to discuss the future of Indian sport.

Modi said by 2016 the IPL will be the world's most watched sporting league.

He also said he would love to be part of an Indian Olympic bid and the Games will come to India in his lifetime.

But the future of the former head of the IPL is clouded with considerable doubt.

In September the 46-year-old was suspended from all involvement in Indian cricket.

He was replaced as IPL chief, stripped of his position as vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and also lost his job as chairman of the Champions League Twenty20, a club tournament organised jointly by India, Australia and South Africa.

Modi also faces accusations of tax evasion and money laundering but denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

Before and after his appearance on stage in London, Modi was accompanied by bodyguards, and there are fears that he would require armed security should he return to India.

At present he has no intention of attending a hearing there and the Indian authorities have demonstrated no willingness to travel to London to speak to him, despite Modi's apparent readiness to pay for them to do so.

Privately, Modi remains determined to stay involved in cricket and predicts that the United States is the market cricket 'must get into'.

It is understood he has turned down several approaches to become involved in other sports in recent months.

BBC Sport - Cricket - Former IPL boss Lalit Modi not planning return to India

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Is Lalit Modi Seeking Asylum in Iceland?​

As the noose tightens around former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi, it has come to light now that he might seek asylum in European island nation Iceland.

The one-time uncrowned king of cricket is now just one step short of being an international fugitive as Modi might lose his Indian passport after the enforcement directorate (ED) making a request to the Mumbai regional passport office in this regard. Consequently, the passport office has sent a show cause notice to Modi seeking an explanation as to why his passport should not be cancelled.

The ED request to the passport office comes on the basis of accusation of not responding to five summons to appear in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case investigation involving Modi. It had on October 1 issued a blue alert notice to the immigration authorities.

Sources told Headlines Today that if the passport gets cancelled, ED might issue a red corner notice and file a criminal case against Modi under FEMA.

Most recently, the Chennai Police booked Modi along with others for alleged criminal misappropriation of the funds of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following a complaint by its secretary N. Srinavasan.

But Modi always seems to be a step ahead of the law. Rumour has it that Modi is all set to get an Icelandic passport using his wife Minal's connections in high places. Minal is a close friend of Dorrit Moussaieff, wife of Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.

Lawyer denies ED charges
On the other side, Modi's counsel Mahmood Abidi completely denied the ED's claim of non-cooperation saying he was staying away from India because of a threat to his life. He claimed Modi has been cooperating and replying to all notices.

"ED did not directly contact us. We heard about the notice on Mr Modi's passport in the media. Lalit has valid reason to not return to India because of elevated threat to his life here. Srinivasan has malicious intent that is why he filed the complaint in his hometown Chennai and not Mumbai," Abidi said.

Modi, the globe trotter
Meanwhile, indifferent to whatever has been happening in India, Modi has been busy globe trotting ever since his unceremonious exit from the IPL. Accompanied by burly bodyguards, he shuttles between London, Paris and Milan these days.

After his ouster, his first stop was London where he maintains his base. He has rented a huge apartment in Cadogan Square, one of the fanciest addresses in the city. After London, he left for Monaco. In mid-May 2010, he was holidaying with industrialist Vijay Mallya and his son Siddharth, attending the Formula One Grand Prix.

From Monaco, he returned to London and began his grand tour of Italy. In early June, Modi was accompanied by actress Sushmita Sen to Florence. By mid-June, Modi had dashed off to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup with his kids in the company of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

In August, Modi was off to Bali with wife Minal and brother-in-law Suresh Chellaram, where he rented a house for a month. From Bali, Modi left for Thailand with his family for the extended 70th birthday celebration of his industrialist father K.K. Modi. This Saturday he is expected to be in Milan to attend a bash thrown by Countess Maily Zegna.

- With Sandeep Bamzai and Aatish Srivastava in New Delhi

Is Lalit Modi seeking asylum in Iceland?: India : India Today

 

[Jackdaws]

LOL...that is funny. He really picked a fight with the wrong people when he picked on shashi tharoor.

 

[Hyde]

Pakistan main to ghareeb players corrupt hain........ wahan to IPL commissioner jis ki itni zayada value thee - woh bhi expose ho raha hai

PS: Good thing is that Indians are not hiding him behind the veil to save humiliation but instead exposing him for the sake of Justice.....

 

[Jackdaws]

Pakistan main to ghareeb players corrupt hain........ wahan to IPL commissioner jis ki itni zayada value thee - woh bhi expose ho raha hai

PS: Good thing is that Indians are not hiding him behind the veil to save humiliation but instead exposing him for the sake of Justice.....

Exposing him? All administrators associated with the IPL and Indian Cricket are corrupt to the core - everyone in the country knows that. Modi just thought he was Jesus himself and took on an elected Minister of the Indian Govt. Tharoor who was forced to resign. So it was decided that he would be taught a lesson. But he is one slippery customer - he will dig up dirt on everyone. Hamam me sab nange.

 

[true_indian]

Even though I do not support corruption, I think IPL board members should have a stake in IPL teams. They should have avenue to make money from work they put in. India is no longer a socialist country where one is expected to work for free for the development of others. According to Adam Smith, father of economics, people are self fish, they only work for betterment of their own. I would like IPL to be run as a corporate where top executives make a percentage of profit. That way they have incentive to further develop the league.

But Lalit modi dug his own grave by taking on Shashi Taroor. I would think he made enemies of entire congress with that. I don't know what he was doing though? Surely a person in glass house shouldn't throw rocks at others. It shows one should not take arrogance to their head.