New Delhi:
Almost a week after he was first visited by Income Tax officials at Mumbai's Four Seasons Hotel, Lalit Modi was questioned again - this time about a multi-million dollar deal for the TV rights of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.
Modi, the IPL Chairman, was asked for copies of the contracts related to the broadcast rights.
A few hours before that, the offices of multi-national companies associated with broadcasting IPL cricket matches were visited by income tax officials.
The "surveys" as tax officials call them, were conducted at four different locations, including the offices of the two groups who hold the rights to telecasting IPL matches: World Sports Group and Sony Multi Screen Media (MSM).
Tax officials also visited the home of the WSG Chairman, Venu Nair, who refused to comment.
What tax officials are trying to do is connect the dots between these groups and IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi. (
Read: Lalit Modi questioned by I-T officials)
The global broadcast rights were originally bought in 2008 by WSG for ten years for more than 900 million dollars. The TV rights for India were then allotted by WSG to MSM. However, in 2009, the IPL cancelled the MSM contract, citing, among other reasons, poor-quality broadcasts. MSM went to court, but after a tough legal battle, decided on an out-of-court settlement.
The new deal saw MSM paying more than a billion dollars to hold onto the TV rights for the remaining nine years. There were allegations that MSM had also given WSG an 80 million dollar facilitation fee as part of its agreement. Modi has been alleged with taking a cut; he denies this.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier said that it was not privy to the details of the new telecast deal.
The income tax visits - officials will not describe them as raids - are a part of the government's promised attempt to clean up what many describe as one of the most corrupt acts in India (
Read: Tax inquiry for Kochi IPL team starts in Pune with Gaikwads)
A special cell of the Income Tax has been created in Mumbai to monitor the income generated by the IPL in its three-year existence.
Last week, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi's tweets pushed the issue of unaccounted-for money with unrelenting force into Parliament. Modi's allegations against Shashi Tharoor forced the minister to resign. But his tweets could also be his own undoing. His job is at stake. Modi says he will not resign and will fight back at a governing council meeting on the 26th of this month. (
Read: Modi prepares defense, says won't resign)
Read:Official statement from World Sport Group