ED gets court nod to extradite IPL ex-boss Lalit Modi in money laundering case

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday gave the nod to Enforcement Directorate (ED) to extradite former IPL chief Lalit Modi for his alleged involvement in cases of money laundering.

Sources told CNN-IBN that Modi was tracked to the United Kingdom and that ED has initiated diplomatic efforts to bring him back to India.

"We have started working on his extradition and a request will soon be forwarded to External Affairs Ministry to expedite the process. The ministry will forward the request for extradition of Modi to the designated court in the United Kingdom," the sources said.

On August 11, 2015, ED sought an Interpol notice against him in connection with a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). However, despite several efforts, Interpol has not issued a Red Corner Notice against Modi.

Then, Modi wrote to Interpol that the entire exercise against him by Indian investigative agencies was due to political reasons.

Modi, who has been living in the United Kingdom (UK) over the last few years, faces several cases of alleged money laundering and forex violations connected to the Indian Premier League.

ED officially moved for a "red Interpol notice" against Modi on the basis of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him by a special court on August 5, 2015 for alleged money laundering.

In 2009, Modi left India soon after the ED started an investigation against him in the money laundering case.

In 2008, BCCI awarded 10-year media rights to WSG for USD 918 million. WSG then entered into a deal with MSM to make Sony the official broadcaster. The contract was replaced later with a nine-year deal where MSM paid USD 1.63 billion.

In 2009, ED started a probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to investigate allegations that payment of Rs 425 crore facilitation fees by MSM Singapore to WSG Mauritius was made in an unauthorised manner.

In 2010, BCCI also registered an FIR in Chennai against Modi under the IPC with regard to a deal between MSM Singapore (which owns the channel Sony) and WSG media, a sports marketing and event management company.