Former model and angel investor Gurpreet 'Blu' Gill Maag and her husband, Daniel Maag, an investment banker, this month filed a defamation case against Lalit Modi in the Singapore High Court. The defamation case pertains to social media posts by Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), who is now based in London.
The Singapore-based couple had earlier waged a legal battle in the High Court in London against Lalit Modi relating to a $1 million investment their company, Quantum Care, had made in a start-up venture Ion Care in November 2018 - barely seven months after the couple had a chance meeting with Modi in Dubai's Four Seasons Hotel. The start-up was the brainchild of Modi and envisaged establishment of specialist cancer treatment centres across the world.
The Maags claimed that Modi knowingly made misleading or false claims that celebrities and influential individuals ranging from the royal families of Spain and Abu Dhabi to Kofi Annan, Sharad Pawar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Naomi Campbell and various others were involved in the Ion Care project as patrons and investors.
However, Judge Murray Rosen in March 2022 observed that Modi had not made "actionable misrepresentations" and in the judgment said that it was a "heavy burden in seeking to establish a difficult case in deceit". However, he directed Modi to pay the balance of $800,000 that was owed to the couple by Modi. The couple then filed an appeal which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in February 2023.
Defamation case
Nearly seven months after the Court of Appeal judgment, Moneycontrol has exclusive details about a defamation case filed by the Maags against Lalit Modi. When contacted, Blu Gill Maag declined to elaborate, but the law firm representing the Maags confirmed the filing of the defamation case.
“Our clients, Blu Gill Maag and Dani Maag have commenced proceedings in the Singapore High Court against Lalit Modi for defamation,” said Suang Wijaya, partner in Eugene Thuraisingam LLP.
“These proceedings concern various social media posts of Lalit Modi which contain serious allegations against our clients. These allegations include factually incorrect narratives about various issues pertaining to the English litigation between Blu and Lalit Modi, including that Blu knowingly presented false testimony without documentary support,” said Wijaya.
The law firm claims they contacted Lalit Modi to remove the posts and apologize publicly to the Maags, which he allegedly refused.
“Furthermore, Lalit Modi also claimed that our clients had commenced at least 5 other lawsuits against other investee companies. All these allegations are entirely scurrilous and baseless. Despite being given a full and fair chance to remedy his falsehoods, Lalit Modi has failed to do so. Hence our clients have been compelled to vindicate their reputation via the Court. Our clients will pursue the matter vigorously and look forward to achieving justice in this case.”
Ruchir Modi said: “We have retained legal counsel in Singapore and will be challenging this matter. I have nothing further to say except that I have full faith in the legal systems in the UK and Singapore and the truth shall prevail as it has in the past.”
This reporter has contacted Lalit Modi for comment, and will update the article with Modi's response.
The Maags and Lalit Modi
Going by the timescale of the earlier case in London, this fresh legal development in Singapore is likely to go on for an extended period. The Maags, as said earlier, are based in Singapore, and Blu Gill is an Indian national. She has invested in at least 19 companies, including providing seed funding to one of Singapore’s most successful start-ups ONE Championship. Her husband Daniel Maag is a Swiss national and investment banker who provides investment advice to Blu.
The couple has been socially acquainted with Lalit Modi for over five years and have common friends. The Maags invested in Ion Care after they met Modi in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Dubai in April 2018. They followed this up with a series of discussions after which they invested $1 million in Ion Care.
During the case in 2022 in the high court in London, Modi was cross-examined by the lawyer representing Blu Gill Maag. The IPL founder had told the court that the celebrities Blu claimed were represented as patrons/investors were on his wish list, and that it is a fact that he knows important personalities from across the world.
The venture, Ion Care, also had a personal connection for Modi - his wife Minal Modi suffered from cancer. Modi was impressed by the treatment she had received in Lisbon, and wanted the same exclusive treatment to be made available in other parts of the world. Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU) is a private biomedical research foundation where Minal Modi underwent treatment.
In 2017, Ion Care entered into an agreement with CCU to gain an exclusive licence to use their line of treatment. However, the Maags alleged that following the death of Minal Modi in December 2018, Lalit Modi and his son Ruchir became incommunicado.
In essence, the relationship between the Maags and Lalit Modi soured after Ion Care failed to take off. In the first instance, the legal fight took place in London, where the Maags travelled for the duration of the trial, and now they have filed a case in Singapore, where they reside.
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