MS Dhoni files criminal case against ex-business partners over alleged fraud of Rs 15 crore

Dhoni’s lawyer Dayanand Singh told The Indian Express: “There was an agreement between Dhoni and Aarka Sports, one Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das to start cricket academies and sports complexes in his name. It was agreed that the franchise fees would be paid directly to Dhoni and there will be a 70:30 share in royalty fees.”

He added: “The letter of authority was signed by Dhoni on May 7, 2017. In the beginning, some money was paid to Dhoni, but later he stopped receiving money. Meanwhile, the cricket academies and sports complexes kept popping up. So we revoked the authority on August 15, 2021. We believe that around 22-23 academies and complexes have come up and we are of the view that the losses have been more than Rs 15 crore.”

Diwakar said that after revoking the authority, a legal notice was sent to the company.

In response to the legal notice, Aarka had on March 2, 2023 denied any “misuse” of the “letter of authority”. The response stated that they have not negotiated any “agreements with any third party after… (Dhoni in) his email dated 15.08.2021 revoked the said Letter of Authority (dated 07.05.2017)… As is evident from the profit and loss statements, losses have been incurred and no profits have been generated from the operation… therefore, no profit share is available for distribution.”