Lalit Modi looks forward to India return after tribunal quashes ED penalties

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi on Wednesday said he was "really looking forward" to returning to India after an appellate tribunal set aside key findings and penalties imposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case linked to the 2009 IPL in South Africa.Lalit Modi has been living outside India for more than a decade."I am really looking forward to returning to India after a long long time. Stay well and stay safe," Modi posted on X.An appellate tribunal in New Delhi has set aside a penalty order issued by the Enforcement Directorate against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi and some others in a FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) case related to hosting of the 2009 T20 cricket tournament in South Africa.The appellate tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators Forfeiture of Property Act (SAFEMA), New Delhi, partly allowed the appellants' appeal against a May 31, 2018, order of the ED's special director imposing penalties on them for various FEMA contraventions and set aside the ED's findings and penalties.Debunking the ED's main probe plank about the nature of the transactions that led to the alleged FEMA violations, the tribunal said: "We have considered the submissions... and find that if, in a given case, the payment towards the service was made from time to time and that too without budgeting, then, according to the respondent (ED), it would fall in the definition of 'Capital Account Transaction'. We are unable to accept the argument advanced by the respondent (ED)."The 2009 edition of the IPL was moved to South Africa in the wake of the general elections in India.Welcoming the order on Tuesday, Lalit Modi said: "The Tribunal has rejected the central premise on which the ED's case against me had been built... This marks the conclusion of what has been the single most significant legal matter arising from the 2009 South Africa IPL."Modi has been living outside India for more than a decade and has faced multiple investigations over financial irregularities linked to his tenure as IPL chairman. His latest post comes a day after the tribunal's order, signalling that he may now be preparing to return to India after years abroad.