Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals had to deal with a legal hiccup from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the jersey sponsorship deal made with Floriana way back in the 2011 season.
According to Mirror, the CBI has asked the franchise for details related to the deal involving the firm. The matter has come to light due to the recent revelations which have apparently unearthed a huge financial scam in the beauty and wellness company. The association with the shady firm is now proving as a slight headache for the IPL franchise that is preparing to return to the league next season.
The CBI notice, which arrived at the Royals’ Mumbai office just a few days ago, has sought the details of their sponsorship deal and transactions involved. There were a few questions about their knowledge of the company as well.
A video dating back to 2011 cemented the fact that the franchise, as well as the company, were associated with other at one point of time. A person, speaking as Sanjay Jain, is seen endorsing the Floriana Group, stating its worth over a whopping 1.2 billion dollars. He also claimed that the company operated in various segments that included Sandalwood and marble business.
But, there is a twist to the story as the Royals officials have claimed that they received no official notice from the CBI and it was just an inquiry The officials have also revealed that the form is a defaulter with payments.
“It is not exactly a notice. It was an inquiry sort of thing and we’ve replied to them immediately. We did not know what actually was the background of the company when we had signed them and we have found out about them (Floriana) only recently,” said a Royals official adding,
“We have not yet received full payment from them.” It is understood that every company that has dealt with that firm has got similar notices.
The official also said that Rajasthan Royals wasn’t to start afresh without any controversies.
“We’re done with all the controversy and we want to return to the IPL in a big way,” said the RR official.
Rajasthan Royals along with Chennai Super Kings were banned for two years after key administrators with inside information of the franchise activities were found to be involved in 2013 spot-fixing scandal. Three Royals’ players – Ajit Chandila, S. Sreesanth and Ankit Chavan – also were caught in the controversy and handed severe punishment for the disgraceful act.