BackGovt seeks information from IPL companies
Govt seeks information from IPL companies
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New Delhi: After finding anomalies in its initial investigations into the companies owning cricket teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has decided to expand the scope of its inquiry.
MCA has asked four IPL team owners for specific and detailed information on any increase in authorized capital, change in the name of the franchisee, the objective with which the company had been formed and the terms and conditions required to qualify as a bidder, among other things.
According to a senior official at MCA, who did not want to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter, the four firms are: Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd, owner of Mumbai Indians; GMR Sports Pvt. Ltd, owner of Delhi Daredevils; Rendezvous Cricket Management Pvt. Ltd, owner of the Kochi team; and KPH Dream Cricket Pvt. Ltd, owner of Kings XI Punjab.
Two of the four IPL franchisees said they had not received any letters from MCA seeking additional information. Shailendra Gaikwad, spokesperson for the Kochi team, said the company had not received any request yet, though “it might be in the process".
Amrit Mathur, CEO of GMR Sports, also denied receiving any letter.
“Whenever we get we will respond," he said. Representatives of Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab did not respond to queries from Mint.
In all, IPL has 10 franchisees including the Pune and Kochi teams that were included earlier this year. The ministry is already examining details given by these companies on the bidding process, sweat equity (the equity acquired in an entity on favourable terms by an individual in exchange for work done or promised), memoranda of association and also franchise agreements.
MCA has also asked the registrar of companies (RoC) for technical scrutiny of papers of these firms. “The ministry is initiating a technical scrutiny of four companies under section 234 of the Companies Act. It will then ask for specific information from other IPL companies," said the official. Under section 234, RoC, which is part of MCA, can seek documents from a company.
The official added that MCA is investigating the four companies under section 295 that deals with extending a loan or giving a guarantee without obtaining government approval and section 58, which deals with invitations extended to individuals to subscribe to shares and debentures in a company.
The official, however, did not give details of specific information sought from each company.
sangeeta.s@livemint.com
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