No notice has been issued against controversial former IPL administrator Lalit Modi with regard to alleged foreign exchange violations, the former chief of Interpol said on Monday.
Ronald K. Noble, who served as general secretary of the international police agency from 2000 to 2014, told a television channel that he had known Mr. Modi since 2013. The channel interviewed Mr. Noble, who had during his tenure been pictured socially with Mr. Modi. Mr. Modi had even referred to him as “my brother Ron Noble”.
Legal troubles In the interview, Mr. Noble said he was not aware of Mr. Modi’s legal troubles and that the Interpol had never received any request from India for assistance in any investigation against Mr. Modi.
“At no point prior to or since that first meeting [with Modi in 2013] did Interpol receive a request from India to assist it in any alleged investigation of Mr. Lalit Modi,” Mr. Noble is quoted as saying. “Nor did Interpol ever receive a request from India to publish a Blue Notice or any other Notice for Mr. Lalit Modi.”
The Union government had recently clarified that it had issued a “Light Blue Notice”, which meant legal action when Mr. Modi was on Indian soil.
Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: “There is confusion about the shades of blue. There is a procedure of a blue-corner notice issued by the Interpol. There is a procedure of a light blue corner notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence [of India] at the request of the Enforcement Directorate. That notice was issued in 2010 and continues to be valid even today.”
Interestingly, though Mr. Noble said there was no problem in his socialising with Mr. Modi in the absence of an official complaint from India, his name had figured in connection with the IPL before.
On Monday, Mr. Modi tweeted a list of 29 individuals, including Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra, whom Congress member Rajeev Shukla had suggested as invitees for the IPL’s 2012 opening ceremony. Mr. Noble’s name figures on that list of prospective invitees.
SIT reviews probe status
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money on Tuesday sought an update from multiple probe agencies on the role of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi in alleged financial irregularities in the T-20 cricket tournament.
The SIT also reviewed cases pending against BCCI officials and individuals involved in the operation of various IPL editions.
The two-hour meeting was chaired by Vice-Chairman Justice (retd.) Arijit Pasayat.
Sources indicated that while the Enforcement Directorate informed the SIT about the status of 16 Foreign Exchange Management Act cases and a money laundering FIR against the Indian Premier League (IPL)-BCCI, their officials and Modi, the Income Tax department shared data on the tax history of the former cricket czar.
| 1 | Mr. Modi alleged that Mr. Jaitley had control over the BCCI for decades and had continued to stick by his “oldest friend” — former Board president N. Srinivasan — even after the media and the court found him guilty. >Read more |
| 2 | A report in the Sunday Times said Mr. Modi had used the names of Prince of Wales Charles and Duke of York Prince Andrew in support of his claim for a travel permit. >Read more |
| 3 | Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria admitted that he had met Mr. Modi in London last year, but clarified that he had asked him to return to Mumbai and lodge a case in connection with underworld threats to his life. >Read more |
| 4 | Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked Mr. Maria to “provide information officially to the government as to what he has said in the media”. >Read more |
| 5 | Mr. Modi had dismissed allegations levelled against him in the controversy, saying that he was being targeted as part of a political conspiracy aimed at destabilising the Narendra Modi government. >Read more |
| 6 | Mr. Modi's counsel Mehmood Abdi accused former UPA Ministers Salman Khursheed, P. Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor of being behind the current controversy. |
| 7 | BJP MP Kirti Azad, hinting at a feud within the party on Twitter, referred to a party insider playing a role in leaking information about Ms. Swaraj’s recommendation and her family’s association with Mr. Modi. >Read more |
| 8 | The U.K. said it will not probe into the allegations against Labour party MP Keith Vaz. The Commissioner for Standards examined a complaint of conflict-of-interest and dismissed it for lack of sufficient evidence. >Read more |
| 9 | The Union government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh came out in full support of Ms. Swaraj. Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah said the recommendation was made on “humanitarian” and not “moral” grounds. >Read more |
| 10 | Ms. Swaraj defended her decision to recommend travel documents for former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi, after taking a "humanitarian view" and asserted that she asked the British government to examine his request and follow the rules. |
