Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi (born 29 November 1963) is an Indian businessman and former cricket administrator and a financial fraud fugitive.

Modi was born in Delhi on 29 November 1963, into one of India's leading business families, the elder son of Krishan Kumar Modi and his wife Bina Modi.

He has an elder sister, Charu Modi Bhartia, and a younger brother, Samir Modi.

His grandfather Gujar Mal Modi had established the Modi Group business conglomerate and the town of Modinagar.

His father KK Modi greatly expanded the family business.

Modi joined Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, in 1971.

His family later moved him to St Joseph's College, Nainital, because of a kidnapping threat.

In 1980, he was expelled from St. Joseph's for truancy, having left school to watch a movie.

Between 1983 and 1986, Modi studied electrical engineering and business administration in the United States.

He attended Pace University in New York for two years, and then Duke University in North Carolina for one year.

He did not graduate from either of these institutions.

In 1985, while a sophomore, Modi and three other students tried to buy half a kilogram of cocaine for $10,000 at a motel.

The man posing as a seller threatened them with a shotgun, and robbed them of $10,000.

The next day, Modi and his friends beat up a student, whom they suspected of setting them up.

As a result, on 1 March 1985, Modi was arrested on charges of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, assault and second-degree kidnapping.

The next day, Modi and another student were indicted.

Modi pleaded guilty to the crime when the case was heard in the Durham County court, North Carolina and later entered a plea bargain, which resulted in a suspended two-year prison sentence.

In lieu of prison time, he was placed under a five-year probation and ordered to do 100 hours' community service.

In 1986, Modi sought permission from the court to return to India, citing bad health.

The Durham County Court accepted his plea and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service in India.

Modi's return to India was facilitated by some of his father's businessmen friends, including Leonard Lauder.

In 1986, Modi came back to Delhi, and joined the family business.

He served as the President of International Tobacco Company Limited from 1987 to 1991.

On 21 August 1989, he was made a Non-Executive & Non-Independent Director at Godfrey Phillips India, one of India's largest tobacco companies, and a joint venture between his family's Modi Enterprises and Philip Morris International.

He has also served as the President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association from 2005 till 2009 and then again from 2014 till 2015, and as the vice president of the Punjab Cricket Association from 2004 till 2012.

As a close associate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vasundhara Raje, Modi once held considerable political clout in Rajasthan.

During Raje's first term as the Chief Minister, he was called "Super Chief Minister" by the opposition and the media.

He also served as the Chairman of the Champions League from 2008 till 2010 and was Vice President of the BCCI from 2005 till 2010.

He was the founder, first chairman and League Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and ran the tournament for three years until 2010.

In 2010, Modi alleged that the Indian National Congress minister Shashi Tharoor held indirect free equity in the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL franchise, ultimately leading to Tharoor's resignation.

The Kochi franchise alleged that Modi was harassing them, because he wanted another group to win the franchise bid.

Shortly after IPL 2010 ended, Modi was suspended from BCCI after being accused of misconduct, indiscipline and financial irregularities.

When asked about this matter in 2010, Modi stated "I've got no idea about these allegations, which have been investigated and nothing was found."

In February 1992, he was made an executive director of Godfrey Phillips India, and retained that position until 1 August 2010.

In Delhi, Modi started courting the nine-years-older Minal Sagrani, who was the daughter of Nigeria-based Sindhi Hindu businessman, Pesu Aswani, and the ex-wife of another Nigeria-based Sindhi businessman, Jack Sagrani.

His family initially opposed the marriage, as Minal was a recently divorced mother and nine years older than him.

BCCI launched an investigation against him, and banned him for life in 2013 after a committee found him guilty of these charges.

Modi denied any wrongdoing, and blamed accusations on political rivalries.

Shortly before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched an investigation against him for alleged financial irregularities, he moved to London and labeled as a fugitive.

As a scion of a leading business family, Modi is the executive director of Godfrey Phillips India.