#PranabMukherjee set ED after me when he was FM, claims Lalit Modi

MUMBAI: Lalit Modi has claimed that Pranab Mukherjee — as finance minister in 2010 in the UPA government — ordered an ED probe into his IPL business deals and personal financial transactions. Making this revelation in a document in TOI’s possession, he says this was in retaliation to his role in Shashi Tharoor’s sacking as Union minister.

The IPL founder had earlier blamed then home minister P Chidambaram for persecuting him for the same reason, a charge the latter has trashed.

The allegation against Mukherjee is part of Modi’s 46-page statement to UK authorities seeking permission to stay on “as a representative of an overseas business”.
Mukherjee’s reaction was part of the Congress backlash for his claims on April 11, 2010 that Tharoor’s late wife Sunanda Pushkar held 25% sweat equity in the Kochi IPL franchise and it was Tharoor who made the bid for the franchise. The disclosure left “Congress furious with me”, said Modi.

Days later his tweets on the Kochi franchise and Shashi Tharoor’s resignation, the I-T department raided the BCCI office and questioned him, Lalit Modi told UK authorities.

“By April 21, the ED and agencies responsible forFOREIGN EXCHANGE and money laundering compliance had initiated probes against me relating to potential forex violations in IPL 2 held in South Africa,” he said.