BCCI Wins IPL Media Rights Matter From 2010 Against World Sports Group

The IPL and it person who brought it to the world, Lalit Modi, are far away from each other while the tournament waits on clearance for its 13th edition.

However, pending litigations from Modi’s controversial days are now falling in place for the BCCI. One such arbitration with the World Sports Group (WSG) brought a positive result for BCCI, as per a Hindustan Times report.

An arbitral tribunal consisting of Supreme Court Justices (Retd) Sujatha Manohar, Mukunthakam Sharma and S.S. Nijjar upheld the termination of the IPL media rights agreement for overseas territories with WSG by the BCCI, on June 28, 2010.

This will give the BCCI access to escrow accounts where the amounts are about Rs 800 crore.

The matter went to arbitration, after WSG staked claim over the profit they would have made, if BCCI did not cancel the agreement. WSG also wanted damages, for wrongful termination of the agreement. However, BCCI stuck to its stand that it was a fraud.

“It has been proved that Lalit Modi in conspiracy with WSG officials cheated, and defrauded the BCCI,” senior counsel, Raghu Raman, who represented the BCCI said.

The BCCI had terminated the media rights agreement with WSG in June 2010, after there was a dispute out of Rs 425 crore-facilitation fee pay-out.

WSG (Mauritius), who had won the IPL media rights deal in a famous 3am deal with the then IPL commissioner on 15 March 2009, however were unable to find a broadcast partner.

MSM (Sony) entered into a facilitation agreement (Rs 425 crore) with WSG (Mauritius) before they won the IPL media rights for Indian sub continent from BCCI.

The overseas rights stayed with WSG but on discovering the facilitation agreement with MSM, the BCCI called it ‘improper’ and reclaimed the rights.

Subsequently, Sony terminated the facilitation agreement with WSG (Mauritius) and agreed to pay Rs300 crores to the BCCI, as well as another Rs125 crore after recovery from WSG. Ten years after Lalit Modi’s removal, BCCI has recovered the facilitation amount and won the right over Rs 850 crore in escrow account.

“BCCI had raised a complaint in 2010 to Chennai police. Now a civil tribunal has held that it is a fraud conducted by Lalit Modi and some officials of WSG,” Raman said.