Notwithstanding the Union government’s claim of fast-tracking extradition proceedings against the former IPL chief Lalit Modi, it may take almost a year for the Enforcement Directorate even to secure an Interpol red-corner notice against him in the money-laundering case.
The ED is pursuing 17 cases against Mr. Modi and other former office-bearers of BCCI-IPL under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), involving about Rs. 2,200 crore.
Red-corner notice
The red-corner notice, which is issued against a wanted accused or convict in a criminal offence, can facilitate initiation of extradition proceedings against Mr. Modi. For that, the ED can seek a non-bailable warrant against him on the grounds of his refusal to join investigations despite repeated summons.
However, a senior government official told The Hindu that the ED was yet to serve a notice of personal appearance on the former IPL chairman in the case. Since Mr. Modi was in London, it would be a time-consuming process, as the agency would have to serve a notice through the Home and the External Affairs Ministries.
The ED would have to ensure that the notice reached the person well ahead of the date of appearance as mentioned therein. In case of no response, the same procedure would have to be followed again.
The agency’s proposal for sending letters of request, seeking information on the case from Singapore and Mauritius, is pending government approval.
Case registered
The ED registered the money-laundering case in December 2012 on the basis of an FIR filed by the former BCCI chief N. Srinivasan with the Chennai Police in October 2010, alleging cheating and embezzlement by Mr. Modi and others in the awarding of BCCI-IPL media rights in 2009.
In the past five years, the Chennai Police have not completed investigations and therefore, no charge sheet has been filed against Mr. Modi.
Extradition of Mr. Modi from the United Kingdom will be possible only when he is accused of, or convicted of, an act defined as a criminal offence in both the countries. But the accused or convicts have several grounds of defence, as provided under Article 9 of the U.K.-India Extradition Treaty (1993).
They include valid reasons suggesting that the accusations have not been made in good faith; that the person might be prejudiced at his trial on any ground; or that the nature of offence is trivial.
The ED in 2010 initiated a probe into the media rights contract under FEMA and filed a complaint with the Adjudicating Authority this January. The case continues to be at the adjudication stage as the 15 other FEMA cases against Mr. Modi and others, which may result in levying penalty on those found guilty.
ED’s defence
The directorate launched the money-laundering probe much later. According to government sources, the ED’s defence is that it initially waited for the Chennai Police to come up with at least a modicum of evidence against Mr. Modi. It then decided to go ahead with the probe, although realising that its case might not stand if the former IPL chief gets a clean chit in the police case.
However, the issue was settled in December 2013 following an Orissa High Court judgment. The court held that though a person is acquitted in an Indian Penal Code case, the money- laundering case registered on the same set of offences would stand, because the burden of proof under the PMLA rests on the accused and not the prosecuting agency, unlike in IPC cases.
