BCCI fears DC mess may lead to litigation

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 Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL) may have floated a tender under the aegis of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) to sell off Deccan Chargers, but BCCI fears there could be a storm brewing even after the Hyderabad IPL franchisee is sold to the highest bidder on September 13. 
    The board has spelt out its apprehensions, centred essentially around the possibility of litigation, in an internal note circulated to its working committee as a brief before the committee’s meeting on Tuesday.
    The note says that the board has apprehensions of being “dragged into litigation from disgruntled banks, creditors or minority shareholders unhappy with the sale process”. It goes on to say, “as part of this litigation, the sale process may be blocked by an injunction”.
    The board further admitted it may have an idea about how much money the owners of the Deccan Chargers (DC) have taken from three private banks (ICICI, Yes and Kotak), but “there continues to be a lack of clarity as to the full extent of DCHL’s financial problems”.
    The note also explains how finding a replacement for DCHL is an urgent need as players’ contracts for all franchises are up for renewal on October 31.
    In a letter given to the DCHL by Kotak Bank (a marked copy was also given to the BCCI), the board claimed that the bank was not agreeable to the sale of the franchisee without their express approval. 
    The fact that the tenders are out suggests the BCCI must have factored in this objection before allowing DCHL to float tenders.
    The board also claimed: “Yes Bank, while having agreed to the sale proceeds lying with the ICICI Bank in the meeting of August 31, has now written that they would like the amount to be deposited with a neutral bank”.