Lalit Modi refused to speak to NDTV in Montenegro, said his lawyers have advised against it.
Former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi on Wednesday backed out of an interview to which he had committed to NDTV in Montenegro, saying his lawyers have asked him not to speak to the media since his words were being "distorted". Asked if he was scared of a crackdown by the government, he said, "I don't care".
Here are the latest developments:
The former IPL chief had earlier tweeted that he would be giving interviews to other news networks. But within hours, he did a volte face.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje - whom Lalit Modi has dragged into the controversy by releasing papers that indicate that she supported his immigration bid to Britain - on Wednesday spoke to BJP chief Amit Shah to clarify her position.
Sources said the BJP has asked its leaders not to back her or speak for her "till facts are ascertained."
Mr Modi, who is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate over the IPL betting scam, is also being probed about his links with Ms Raje's son Dushyant Singh. His firm allegedly loaned Rs. 11.6 crore to enterprises belonging to Mr Singh. The ED has summoned two of his former directors for questioning.
Sources told NDTV that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj - who is at the centre of a controversy for helping Mr Modi get travel papers in Britain - had met him at a private dinner in London in October 2014.
The dinner was hosted by hotelier Joginder Sanger, the owner of the Bentley Hotel in Kensington, where Ms Swaraj was staying during an official trip for the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas. Sources describe him as a family friend of Ms Swaraj.
Sources have denied that any meeting took place in London between Ms Swaraj and Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz, whose leaked emails triggered the political storm. Ms Swaraj, they said, met Keith Vaz only twice and neither meeting was in London.
Ms Swaraj claims helping Lalit Modi was a humanitarian gesture, so he could be with his wife during her cancer surgery in Portugal. The opposition alleges it was a conflict of interest, since her husband and daughter represented Mr Modi legally. The Congress has also demanded the resignation of Ms Raje.
Sources said Lalit Modi had also tried to use IPL money to fund the stay of Swaraj Kaushal, the husband of Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje, and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor at the Four Seasons Hotel in 2010.
Lalit Modi has also claimed three UPA politicians helped him. Of them, senior politician Sharad Pawar said he never made any commitment to him. He said he had run into Mr Modi a few weeks ago at a London restaurant, and had told him to come back to India and face the law.
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