Officials said the agency has initiated the "legal procedures" to obtain from a court two Letters <g data-gr-id="52">Rogatories</g> (overseas judicial requests) to be sent to the two countries as part of its probe in the alleged laundering of funds in awarding media rights of the <g data-gr-id="53">money spinning</g> cricket tournament in 2009.
An ED team from its Mumbai zonal office has also been sent to <g data-gr-id="42">Singapore</g> but officials indicated they are part of an investigating team probing another case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
However, it is understood, the team could gather some important leads in connection with this deal case where the ED has recently <g data-gr-id="59">showcaused</g>, under foreign exchange violation laws, Modi and 13 other BCCI-Indian Premier League (IPL) officials and other private entities.
The two accused <g data-gr-id="48">companies in this case</g> are based in either country and hence an LR is aimed to help ED obtain more details about their transactions and international financial deals vis-a-vis IPL.
The money laundering case pertains to a <g data-gr-id="50">compliant</g> filed by former BCCI chief N Srinivasan in the same deal with Chennai police in 2010 against Modi and others charging them with alleged embezzlement of funds and cheating the cricketing body in the awarding of telecast rights.
The ED registered its own criminal case under PMLA early this year and later carried out searches in Gurgaon and Delhi to probe this deal which it suspects generated tainted funds.
Agency sources have earlier indicated that this being the only criminal case against the IPL-BCCI and Modi, it is expected that based on the positive progress of this probe, ED sleuths may further seek to notify an Interpol Red Corner notice against the former IPL Chairman to make him join investigations after deporting him from his present address in the United Kingdom.
Modi is currently embroiled in a controversy for obtaining travel benefits through External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and for his similar dealings with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
The ED, in its <g data-gr-id="64">showcause</g> issued in February this year under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in this case, has charged Modi of sending "fraud" emails and being a suspect beneficiary of Rs 125 crore illegal funds in connection with its Rs 425 crore forex violations probe for granting media rights of the T-20 tournament in 2009 by BCCI.
The central probe agency, after completing its six-year- old FEMA probe in the case, had slapped a show-cause notice against 14 individuals and entities which includes Modi, Srinivasan, IPL COO Sundar Raman, IMG Vice President and BCCI- IPL legal advisor Paul Manning, officials of the World Sports Group (Mauritius), Multi-Screen Media Satellite (Singapore) and other company executives for prima facie "contravening" the provisions of the FEMA in executing this deal.
The case is under adjudication at present and is one of the important ones amongst the two dozen hawala and money laundering instances that the ED is probing with regard to the conduct of various editions of the IPL.
The deal dates back to 2008 when the BCCI awarded media rights to WSG for 10 years on payment of USD 918 million. In the same year, WSG also entered into a deal with MSM to make Sony the official broadcaster. The contract was replaced a year later with a nine-year deal where Multi Screen paid USD 1.63 billion.
The ED stepped in this case in 2009 to investigate allegations that payment of Rs 425 crore facilitation fee by MSM Singapore to WSG Mauritius was made in an alleged unauthorised manner which led to the creation of alleged illegal assets in a foreign soil which was a violation of laid down RBI guidelines in this regard.