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Dalmiya off the hook in FERA case

President of the International Cricket Council Jagmohan Dalmiya announced in Calcutta that the Reserve Bank of India has cleared him of charges of FERA violations during his tenure as convenor of PILCOM (Pakistan India Lanka committee for the World Cup 1996).

"I have never maintained any personal bank account in my life," Dalmiya said.

The RBI's observations came while responding to a note sent by Deputy Director of Central Enforcement (Calcutta) K K Kabirpanthi, saying "During the course of enquiry, it has come to the suspicion of the directorate that Jagmohan Dalmiya, the convenor-secretary of PILCOM, had arranged transfer of forex worth Rs 560 million from an account of PILCOM to his individual account maintained abroad".

Dalmiya maintained that he had not transferred any money to his account as alleged. In his letter of October 8, 1997, he said, "In the first place, the account was operated under joint signature. While I was one of the signatories, the other one was the treasurer of PILCOM, based in Pakistan. I can state with firm conviction that I have never maintained any personal bank account abroad in my life and hence, the question of transferring funds to my personal account does not arise."

Dalmiya pointed out that the enforcement directorate has following the World Cup instituted many enquiries, and he has cooperated with them, making available all requested documents and other material for scrutiny. "There is not a single query now pending against PILCOM, and from the documents now with the directorate, it is clear that there has been no violations, every transaction is above board."