ED probing money laundering complaints against IPL

New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate is
looking into complaints of criminal activities like money
laundering against Indian Premier League (IPL), Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday.
"There are certain irregularities which are being looked
into, particularly, relating to some complaints received that
there are investments, so far as IPL is concerned, from
outside.
"Those are being looked into by the Enforcement
Directorate because those are the criminal activities like
money laundering," Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha(Upper
House of Indian Parliament) during Question Hour.
IPL, organiser of the popular Twenty20 cricket format, is
a body of the cricket board, BCCI. Till 2006, the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) enjoyed income tax
exemptions, the Finance Minister said.
Answering supplementaries, he said the concerned agencies
are looking into the "criminal activities and other areas"
under relevant laws.
He said the cricket board itself has taken certain action
against IPL. Since the BCCI was earlier exempted from income
tax, "there was no question for them to show low income,"
Mukherjee said, adding the authorities have raised the tax
demand after the BCCI lost registration under the Madras
Registrations Act.
This registration was lost in 2006 following verdict of
the Allahabad High Court. Since then, BCCI is subject to tax.
Tax demands were raised for the assessment years 2007-08
and 2008-09 amounting to Rs 118 crore and Rs 257 crore
respectively. As much as Rs 249 crore has already been
recovered from BCCI, Mukherjee said.The gross receipts disclosed by BCCI in its tax returns
for the assessment years 2007-08 to 2010-11 are Rs 651.82
crore, Rs 1,000.40 crore, Rs 1,387.62 crore and Rs 1,666.84
crore, respectively, Mukherjee said.
Through a supplementary, Vijay Darda (Cong) said questions
have been raised about activities of BCCI and IPL. "This
organisation (BCCI-IPL) has remained under suspicion. Money
invested in IPL has been collected through illegal means...,"
he pointed out.
Mahendra Mohan (SP) asked as to why inquiry has not been
conducted into commercial activities of IPL.
He said "a lot of money has been invested in IPL through
Mauritius route."
Mohan said all the IPL franchisees are showing losses
after "earning" so much.