What’s the story?
Two weeks before the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show cause notice to the owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders – Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri Khan and Juhi Chawla for breaking the FEMA guidelines.
In case you didn’t know..
The Gautam Gambhir-led team has won the IPL on two occasions, and are also known as one of the top sports brands in India. The brand also has a team in the Caribbean Premier League, by the name of Trinbago Knight Riders.
The heart of the matter
According to reports from Zee News, the show cause notices have been issued by ED under Rule 4(1) of Foreign Exchange Management Act (Adjudication Proceedings and Appeal Rules), 2000.
They have been investigating Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on the charges of irregularities in the shares’ sale of Knight Riders Sports in 2008-09 to a company owned by Chawla’s husband Jay Mehta, which is based in Mauritius. KKR is owned by Red Chillies Entertainment, which is owned by Shah Rukh Khan, and Chawla. Jay Mehta meanwhile is also a co-owner of the IPL franchise.
If the agency is to be believed, KKR shares were sold to the Mauritius company at undervalued rates. The actor has been questioned a number of times in connection with this case.
Extra cover: KKR IPL 2017 Schedule: Download PDF of Kolkata Knight Riders' fixtures
What’s next?
After falling at the Eliminator stage last season, the two-time champions will look to create history by becoming the first outfit to win the IPL thrice when the tournament gets underway on April 5. KKR suffered a huge blow to their chances ahead of the IPL auction after West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell was given a 1-year ban for violating anti-doping codes.
But to make up for Russell’s absence, the team management strengthened the bowling department in the auction held last month. They acquired the services of Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Sayan Ghosh in the fast bowling department.
Author’s take
With the IPL round the corner, this controversy could not have come at a worse time for both the league and the franchise. However, owing to the legal issues one hopes it can be tackled with subtlety without any hassle so that the games begin at the scheduled time.
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