Taxman goes after franchises

The Income Tax department on Wednesday questioned IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and surveyed offices of IPL teams across six cities, including those of Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers. Officials seized “some sensitive documents” in Hyderabad. Surveys were also carried out at the offices of the Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata. In Mumbai, tax officials searched the premises of Multi Screen Media in wake of allegations the telecasting agency had paid $80 million as “facilitation fee” to World Sports Group (WSG), the company responsible for marketing IPL. Surveys were also conducted in the offices of International Management Group and at the residence of Venu Nair, CEO of WSG.