MUMBAI: A special court in Mumbai yesterday allowed the Indian law-enforcement authorities to extradite from the United Kindom Lalit Modi, the creator of highly-successful Indian IPL franchise which was recently in news for potentially fetching BCCI Rs 4500 crore in telecast rights.

The PMLA court permitted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to send a Letter of Request (LR) to government in the UK for execution of a non-bailable warrant against the former IPL commissioner, and his transfer to India for facing probe in a money-laundering case.

The ED is investigating a case against Modi in connection with a 2008 deal between World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) for IPL television rights to the tune of Rs 425 crore. The BCCI had registered a case in Chennai in this connection, followed by a case by the ED under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The directorate is probing Modi for misappropriation of funds from IPL during his tenure.

The agency had on 8 November sought necessary steps to be taken by the competent authorities in the UK for locating him. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court permitted the prayer. “The LR order will now be sent to the External Affairs Ministry, which will forward it to the competent authority in England for further action,” said special ED counsel Hiten Venegoankar.

So far, three LRs had been issued against Modi by the same court to authorities in Mauritius, Singapore, and the UAE. The court had, on August 6 last year, issued an NBW (non-bailable arrest warrant) against the high-profile former IPL boss who was believed to be in the UK.