Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi on Wednesday said he was “really looking forward” to returning to India after an appellate tribunal overturned key findings and penalties imposed on him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case related to the 2009 IPL held in South Africa.
I am really looking forward to returning to India after a long long time. Stay well and stay safe 🙏🏽 https://t.co/29AaVrxF6V
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) July 22, 2026
An appellate tribunal in New Delhi has overturned an Enforcement Directorate (ED) penalty order against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi and several others in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case linked to the staging of the 2009 IPL in South Africa.
The tribunal, operating under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA), partly allowed the appeals against the ED special director’s order dated May 31, 2018. It set aside the agency’s findings and the penalties imposed for alleged FEMA violations.
Lalit Modi Gets Relief as Tribunal Rejects ED’s Core Argument
Rejecting the ED’s primary argument regarding the nature of the financial transactions at the centre of the case, the tribunal observed:
“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 season of the IPL was shifted to South Africa due to the general elections in India. Reacting to the tribunal’s ruling 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.”
Lalit Modi has been living overseas for more than a decade while facing multiple investigations into alleged financial irregularities during his tenure as IPL chairman. A day after the tribunal’s ruling, his latest statement indicated that he could be preparing to return to India after spending years abroad.
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