The former IPL chairman said the tribunal’s verdict had finally established the truth behind his stand on the case.
New Delhi: New Delhi:Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi on Wednesday said he plans to visit India later this year or early next year after receiving major legal relief from the Appellate Tribunal in the long-running 2009 IPL South Africa foreign exchange case, describing the ruling as the vindication of a 16-year battle.
In a video message posted on social media, Modi said the tribunal’s verdict had finally established the truth behind his stand on the case.
“I’m really happy with the verdict. It’s really been a great day. Sixteen years I have fought and whatever I have been saying to the media and to everybody has finally emerged as the truth,” Modi said.
The former IPL chief welcomed the tribunal’s verdict and said the judgment is not simply personal vindication but also reaffirms the importance of due process that allegations must ultimately be tested against evidence and law.
The 2009 event was moved to the foreign shore due to security concerns for the game in the wake of the conduct of the general elections in India that year.
The BCCI, the cricket board, had moved funds to South Africa for this event, which the ED considered a contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The main charge was in regard to the transfer of foreign exchange worth USD 4,98,62,799 (equivalent to more than Rs 243 crore) to an entity outside India without prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
The federal agency issued the FEMA show cause notices in 2011 followed by penalty orders in 2018 against Modi, some former BCCI executives and others.
These entities later challenged the order before the Appellate Tribunal set up under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA).
A division bench of the tribunal including Chairman Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Member Rajesh Malhotra issued a 105-page order on July 16 stating Modi was “not in-charge of the affairs and otherwise he has been framed in the case without any material showing his responsibility”.
“The penalty imposed on Shri Lalit Modi is wholly erroneous is thus interfered,” the order said. Modi, based abroad, welcomed the decision and released a statement through his lawyer Mehmood Abdi.
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