ED records T-Series MD’s statement in royalty case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday recorded the statement of Bhushan Kumar, managing director of T-Series in connection with the money laundering case being investigated against top five music companies. The agency has also summoned managing director of Saregama Music, Vikram Mehra.

The ED officials suspect that the five music companies, where searches were conducted on Friday, allegedly laundered money over Rs 1,000 crore over the past several years.

Recording of Mr Kumar’s statement went on till late in the night at the ED’s Mumbai office.

According to the initial investigation, the companies made money as licensee fees and service charges and the amassed amount was laundered instead of paying royalties to the music composers and lyricists. The music companies in question are Saregama, T-Series Music, Sony, Yashraj Music and Universal Music for non-payment of royalties worth several crores and laundering that money instead into investments.

“This Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), was given the whole rights for collection of royalty and distribution. The probe has also revealed that the companies acted as sole and exclusive owner of the rights and post collection, denied the composers and lyrists their share,” said an ED officer.

Officials said that after the statements of Kumar and Mehra are recorded, summons would be sent to other companies too. The investigators are seeking clarity on the laundering of the royalty money that was collected by the five companies. “The quantum of money amassed by these companies individually is not yet clear,” added the ED officer.

The searches came in the backdrop of the ED recording the statement of veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar in May this year pertaining to non-payment of royalties by music companies. Akhtar is the chairman of the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) board of directors who was also allegedly cheated by the PPL.

The investigation revealed that PPL allegedly indulged in a criminal conspiracy to pocket the royalty amount that had to be divided in a predefined ratio by the lyricists, composers or music directors and publishers or the music companies.

The ED had attached assets worth Rs 13 crore of the PPL and mutual funds worth Rs 70.17 crore of the IPRS in connection with the case in 2016.