The Wadia company which took the 8-seater Bombardier Challenger 300 on charter from local operator Golden Wings, have to disclose the specific nature of services provided by the operator.
ET Bureau
MUMBAI: The Wadia group is feeling the repercussions of investigation by government agencies into Lalit Modi, the controversial cricket administrator and architect of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which probes violations of foreign exchange transactions and anti-money laundering laws, has asked a Wadia Group firm to share all details pertaining to a chartered flight from Mumbai to Chandigarh in 2010. ED, investigating under Section 37 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act which empowers it to carry out search and seizure, issued the notice last month.
The Wadia company which took the 8-seater Bombardier Challenger 300 on charter from local operator Golden Wings, have to disclose the specific nature of services provided by the operator, the mode and source of payment, copies of all correspondence with Golden Wings and copies of ledger account reflecting the payment. Significantly, ED has also sought the names and designations of all persons who took that flight in the summer of 2010 to watch the Kings XI Punjab match in Mohali (10 km from Chandigarh).
Other shareholders (and directors) are Mohit Burman (955,200 shares, 48%), Preity Zinta (457,700 shares, 23%) and Karan Paul (119,400 shares, 6%). A Wadia Group spokesman did not respond to two text messages from ET. The queries by ED pertain to a prolonged probe into LalitModi’s financial dealings, possible remittances overseas and the money trail to determine the true ownership of the aircraft.
The aircraft was originally financed by a US entity and leasedoutby PeelAviation, a company in Ireland, to Golden Wings. Golden Wings, which stopped operations since 2010, has shared all information with the directorate andhadtaken RBI’s permission in remitting the lease charges abroad. “While Wadias have produced the receipt for the charter fee, they are yet to share all details such as the passenger list which mostlikely includes Mr Modi,” a source toldET.
This is part of a broader investigation on whether and how fund was moved out of India for the purchase of the aircraft and whether other entities have acted as fronts for Mr Modi,he said. The consortium comprising Wadia, Burman and others had bought the franchise for Punjab in February 2008 for $76 million.
After the third season, the IPL governing council had terminated Kings XI Punjab from the league on charges of transgression of shareholding norms, but the Bombay HC stayed the termination in December 2010.
"We are in touch with the Enforcement Directorate and are in the process of gathering all the information since the matter is over 5 years old. We are fully committed to cooperate with the Enforcement Agency Officials and will extend all our support to them.
It is unfortunate that the text message from the Journalist to the Company Official seeking our response was lost in the intervening holidays and denied us the opportunity to respond earlier," said a Wadia group spokesperson.
ET Bureau
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