There were many issues on the agenda during the press conference after yesterday's annual general meeting of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) but the subject that brought it to life was one word: Nimbus.
The groundbreaking six-year deal, penned in July 2008 (after the Head of Agreement of the contract was signed in November 2006), was worth 56.88 million dollars but has since become a constant thorn on the board's side.
Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal said Nimbus owes a lot of money to BCB, in excess of 22 million dollars, and they are trying to figure out a way to bring the money.
"We are supposed to get a lot of money from Nimbus, like 20 to 22 million dollars. The deal, signed during the caretaker government, was not done properly," said Kamal.
"We are trying to arrange two events with India in near future but it has to be within the time frame of our contract with Nimbus.
"I hope that we can make something out of it because it can offset some of the 14 to 17 million dollars they owe us and through the tours, we can also earn 4 million dollars," he said, adding that the tours could be confirmed within a month.
The board chief also said that Nimbus, due to several reasons, is unable to keep their end of the bargain. "According to them, there were material changes like matches being held in March instead of November, or from Sunday to Friday or day matches being played day-night. They faced obstacles due to these and some other issues," informed Kamal.
"It is surprising that such a deal was signed. They [Nimbus] did not implement the bank guarantee. It is almost like a blank paper that we have had to work on," he added.
A vital component of the big-money contract -- bank guarantee -- has never been implemented although it was incorporated in the Long Form Agreement (LFA) during Sina Ibn Jamali's reign as board chief, some 20 months after the Head of Agreement was signed without a clause for the guarantee.
"We couldn't go out of the Head of Agreement due to its limitations. For the board's interest, we had to make sure we get the best out of the deal and made sure we incorporated the bank guarantee in the LFA," said BCB vice-president Ahmed Sajjadul Alam, who was part of the board when the LFA was penned.
"One has to bear in mind that without the LFA, Nimbus was not paying us any money. I would stress that the LFA wasn't perfect simply because there were compulsions in the Head of Agreement," he added.
The deal was to have a confirmed schedule early in a year so that the minimum guaranteed money that they would pay could be determined through the bank guarantee, but that has never been put into practice.
Earlier this year, the board president along with vice-president Mahbubul Anam went to Mumbai to hammer out some kind of understanding with Nimbus so that they pay BCB 10 million dollars immediately and the remaining 13 million later.
Name of the shareholder Number of shares % of holding
Mr. Harish Thawani 79,96,000 66.63%
Ms. Shobha Thawani 39,98,000 33.32%
Mr. Kanayalal M. Thawani 1200 0.01%
Ms. Kamla K. Thawani 1200 0.01%
Mr. Dilip K. Thawani 1200 0.01%
Ms. Kiran D. Thawani 1200 0.01%
Ms. Mavis Montero 1200 0.01%
Total 120,00,000 100%
A contract is a legally binding agreement that if you do not get right in the first place, it's gonna make you pay dearly throughout the contract lifetime. Nimbus just took full advantage of BCB's unprofessionalism and inexperience in contract management and signed a contract with favourable terms to themselves - something that is very common in international business and one of the reasons corporations have legal councel. I wonder if BCB even got the contract checked by a proper law firm prior to signing.
Hopefully BCB has learnt a lesson and next time around, they shouldn't make the same mistake - though knowing BCB I wouldn't get my hopes up too much!
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"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours : that's relativity." -- Albert Einstein
Why should we bash Nimbus? They have done what's good for them and as per law. If we failed to make a good contract, that's our failure. And we always fail to make good contracts. Lack of legal professioals or they get sold underhand?
Whatever, we started with a 25 years treaty with India after the war and since then we have never got a contract with foreign entities right. It may be lack of professionalism or it may be lack of integrity. Both way, we have to take the blame and responsibility of a bad contract, not the other party, from their point of view they had been smart and they did what was good for them.
Actually, Nimbus' argument in not paying us our money is a "mia culpa" in itself. "The economy is bad, so we are going to use an ambiguous clause in the contract to stiff you....hmm.... about 22 million".
This might not hold water in an International Court, since their intentions for cheating us is so blatantly clear in this case.
All this cheating clause by Nimbus is getting me worried. Is there another one which will keep us till......."death do us apart" "saath me jinah saath me morna" type clause.
This is s**t. BCB get out before you sink with it.
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I love Bangladesh cricket and that's why I found BanglaCricket.com
Lotus is saying that BCB will not compromise even a single $. They will try to recover the loss by playing those extra matches with India. India doesn't even want to play their regular matches with us. I don't know how this will be possible.
My prescription:
- Trash the whole agreement, since Nimbus has already trashed it.
- File cases of fraud against Nimbus with International Trade Courts and with other orgs.
- Cancel Nimbus permits to operate any and all business in Bangladesh
- Seize any and all Nimbus asset and bank accounts in Bangladesh
- Arrest Nimbus employees and management that are in Bangladesh
I guarantee you, our 22 mil will be paid instantly.
Originally Posted by billah
Lotus is saying that BCB will not compromise even a single $. They will try to recover the loss by playing those extra matches with India. India doesn't even want to play their regular matches with us. I don't know how this will be possible.
My prescription:
- Trash the whole agreement, since Nimbus has already trashed it.
- File cases of fraud against Nimbus with International Trade Courts and with other orgs.
- Cancel Nimbus permits to operate any and all business in Bangladesh
- Seize any and all Nimbus asset and bank accounts in Bangladesh
- Arrest Nimbus employees and management that are in Bangladesh
I guarantee you, our 22 mil will be paid instantly.
Billah bhai
Your prescription won't work here. Standing tall against an indian company is not possible for the board during this govt. BCB will be in trouble from home.
চুক্তিতে বিস্তর ফাঁকফোকরের কারণে আন্তর্জাতিক আদালতে যাওয়ার পরিবর্তে আলোচনার টেবিলে বসে নিমবাসের কাছ থেকে প্রাপ্য বুঝে নেওয়াকে সেরা পন্থা মনে করছেন বিসিবি সভাপতি আ হ ম মোস্তফা কামাল।
এ ত্রুটির কথা বললেও চুক্তি বাতিল করলে উল্টো বিসিবিই বিপাকে পড়বে বলে মনে করেন তানজীব, 'চুক্তি বাতিল করলে পাওনা টাকা পাবে না বিসিবি। নতুন ক্লায়েন্ট তো আর ওই পাওনা পরিশোধ করবে না।' অগত্যা, 'আলোচনার টেবিলেই সম্ভবত সেরা সমাধানটা আছে'_মনে করেন এ আইনজীবী।
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Armchair selectors name their XI and conduct heated selection meetings on internet. Blood young players, some experts cry. Pick the best players, regardless of age, insist others.
Most surprising is - although they bought the rights they hardly cover our matches in the satellite channels. Their channel is supposed to carry the feed but sadly they were not bothered to cover. Given that they have another channel which is called Neo Sports, where they show tennis,football etc etc but our matches are ignored totally.
I believe it's a breach of contract as they are supposed to show it on top of producing the feed.
None of our satellite channels were interested to show the matches or they were barred by a rule which is 'BTV hold the rights to show all home matches'. Now the question is did BTV pay money to BCB? No. Then why they don't allow any other channel to show it? I think this issue should be raised and answered.
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ওইখানে আমিও আছি /যেইখানে সূর্য উদয়/প্রিয়দেশ পাল্টে দেবো/তুমি আর আমি বোধহয়/কমরেড, তৈরি থেকো/গায়ে মাখো আলতা বরণ/আমি তুমি আমি তুমি/এভাবেই লক্ষ চরণ
Originally Posted by SMHasan
Most surprising is - although they bought the rights they hardly cover our matches in the satellite channels. Their channel is supposed to carry the feed but sadly they were not bothered to cover. Given that they have another channel which is called Neo Sports, where they show tennis,football etc etc but our matches are ignored totally.
I believe it's a breach of contract as they are supposed to show it on top of producing the feed.
None of our satellite channels were interested to show the matches or they were barred by a rule which is 'BTV hold the rights to show all home matches'. Now the question is did BTV pay money to BCB? No. Then why they don't allow any other channel to show it? I think this issue should be raised and answered.
1. These are the severe breaches of contract.
2. Go to the International Trade Court, as Billah advised, to sue them and claim a loss of a half billion dollars retroactive to the first day of the contract as they did not do their job as per the contract.
3. BD fans can sue Nimbus as well because we could not watch some BD games on tv/internet, the way it was supposed to be as per the contract.
4. This government has friendly relationship with India, that is government level, but still suing big sucker crook Nimbus will not put any negative impact in the relationship, even if it does who cares. India needs Bangladesh, Bangladesh needs India - it is all bileteral.
5. When TATA issue came back last year, some analysts said, "We must bend down to India, for geopolitical , military and economic reason". But Dilip Barua straightfowardly said in Kolkata that TATA would not get cheap/free gas in Bangladesh. What happened since than in terms of bileteral relationship between these two countries? Nothing bad, because Bangladesh needs India, India needs Bangladesh as well.
6. BCB should sue Nimbus with an imperialist attitude, suck as much blood as you can.
Originally Posted by FagunerAgun
1. These are the severe breaches of contract.
2. Go to the International Trade Court, as Billah advised, to sue them and claim a loss of a half billion dollars retroactive to the first day of the contract as they did not do their job as per the contract.
3. BD fans can sue Nimbus as well because we could not watch some BD games on tv/internet, the way it was supposed to be as per the contract.
4. This government has friendly relationship with India, that is government level, but still suing big sucker crook Nimbus will not put any negative impact in the relationship, even if it does who cares. India needs Bangladesh, Bangladesh needs India - it is all bileteral.
5. When TATA issue came back last year, some analysts said, "We must bend down to India, for geopolitical , military and economic reason". But Dilip Barua straightfowardly said in Kolkata that TATA would not get cheap/free gas in Bangladesh. What happened since than in terms of bileteral relationship between these two countries? Nothing bad, because Bangladesh needs India, India needs Bangladesh as well.
6. BCB should sue Nimbus with an imperialist attitude, suck as much blood as you can.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Youth and Sports has asked Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to take necessary steps to realise the money which the board is supposed to get from Nimbus.
"They [BCB] must ensure that they bring the more than 100 crore taka from Nimbus. This is a big amount. No way can the country lose this money. We have asked them to inform the committee about the matter within two months. Everybody has to be accountable," Zahid Ahsan Russel, chairman of the committee, told The Daily Star after the meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday.
A groundbreaking six-year television rights deal with Nimbus, penned in July 2008 after the Head of Agreement of the contract was signed in November 2006, was worth 56.88 million dollars but has since become a constant thorn on the board's side.
Nimbus owes a lot of money to BCB, in excess of 22 million dollars, and the board is trying to figure out a way to realise the money.
BCB's senior vice-president Mahbubul Anam and director Dewan Shafiul Arefin were present in the meeting and Russel informed that the board officials failed to give any satisfactory explanation regarding the issue though they told that they were trying to bring the money from Nimbus.
Russel however said that the BCB high-ups assured that they would give the committee an update regarding the issue within two-month time.
The committee also asked the sports ministry to follow up on this issue so that the board could get the money within this time frame.
During the meeting, the parliamentary body criticised the board for their 'go solo' policy regarding the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 where Bangladesh is one of the co-hosts along with India and Sri Lanka.
"The committee criticised the board's 'go solo' policy regarding holding of the World Cup. We asked them to involve everybody so that the country can successfully hold this mega event," said Russel.
Bangladesh will host eight matches including two quarterfinals besides the opening ceremony, to be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on February 17 next year
Another news about this on going issue with Nimbus from Daily Inqilab.
And one from NewAge
BCB to search new broadcaster soon Staff Correspondent
The Bangladesh Cricket Board will soon start searching for a new broadcasting partner as the deal with the controversial India-based marketing agent Nimbus Sports International will expire in little over a year.
The BCB sold the marketing right to Nimbus for a staggering $56.88 million in October 2006, a deal which will expire concurrently
with the ICC’s current Future Tour Programme in March 2012.
Nimbus owed the BCB a total of $27.76 million as minimum guaranteed money for the 2009-10 fiscal year, but it did not pay a single penny on many pretext, which prompted the BCB to look for a new broadcasting partner sooner than later.
‘We are trying to find a way to get the dues from Nimbus though we don’t want to go for arbitration at this stage,’ BCB spokesperson Jalal Younus told reporters after a meeting of Board of directors on Monday.
‘At the same time we will initiate the tender process for the next deal as we don’t have enough time in our hand,’ said Jalal, adding that Nimbus will have the first negotiation right for the next deal as per the current agreement.
‘They will enjoy the privilege, but not necessarily we have to award it to them again. Let us start the tender process, hopefully we will win a good deal,’ he added.
Originally Posted by MohammedC
Another news about this on going issue with Nimbus from Daily Inqilab.
And one from NewAge
BCB to search new broadcaster soon Staff Correspondent
The Bangladesh Cricket Board will soon start searching for a new broadcasting partner as the deal with the controversial India-based marketing agent Nimbus Sports International will expire in little over a year.
The BCB sold the marketing right to Nimbus for a staggering $56.88 million in October 2006, a deal which will expire concurrently
with the ICC’s current Future Tour Programme in March 2012.
Nimbus owed the BCB a total of $27.76 million as minimum guaranteed money for the 2009-10 fiscal year, but it did not pay a single penny on many pretext, which prompted the BCB to look for a new broadcasting partner sooner than later.
‘We are trying to find a way to get the dues from Nimbus though we don’t want to go for arbitration at this stage,’ BCB spokesperson Jalal Younus told reporters after a meeting of Board of directors on Monday.
‘At the same time we will initiate the tender process for the next deal as we don’t have enough time in our hand,’ said Jalal, adding that Nimbus will have the first negotiation right for the next deal as per the current agreement.
‘They will enjoy the privilege, but not necessarily we have to award it to them again. Let us start the tender process, hopefully we will win a good deal,’ he added.
BCB I got 1 message for you, stop making mistake after mistake, get Professional do the paper work right, and hope not to go with Nimbus ever again, does not matter how much they pay.
Originally Posted by mij
BCB I got 1 message for you, stop making mistake after mistake, get Professional do the paper work right, and hope not to go with Nimbus ever again, does not matter how much they pay.
Exactly! BCB, Get a good lawyer to make you a watertight contract. Nimbus will be able to hide behind their contract and not pay your $27 mil precisely because of your incompetence when you signed it.
Rashidul Hasan
The parliamentary standing committee on Youth and Sports yesterday blamed Hawa Bhaban and Arafat Rahman Koko, younger son of Khaleda Zia, for making the controversial TV rights deal with Nimbus
“BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) made this ambiguous agreement with Nimbus because of Hawa Bhaban and Arafat Raman Koko. You know Nimbus owes Tk 100 crore to BCB,” said Zahid Ahsan Russel, chief of the parliamentary body, after the meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday.
He also warned that the standing committee would form a House probe body if BCB failed to realise the outstanding amount from Nimbus by January 24 next year.
"BCB high officials took two months time during the November 24 meeting to realise the money. And they must settle the issue within this time frame otherwise actions will be taken not only against them but also those who are responsible for signing this kind of deal,” said Russel, an Awami League lawmaker, adding that some other influential people were also involved in signing the agreement
Rashidul Hasan
The parliamentary standing committee on Youth and Sports yesterday blamed Hawa Bhaban and Arafat Rahman Koko, younger son of Khaleda Zia, for making the controversial TV rights deal with Nimbus
“BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) made this ambiguous agreement with Nimbus because of Hawa Bhaban and Arafat Raman Koko. You know Nimbus owes Tk 100 crore to BCB,” said Zahid Ahsan Russel, chief of the parliamentary body, after the meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday.
He also warned that the standing committee would form a House probe body if BCB failed to realise the outstanding amount from Nimbus by January 24 next year.
"BCB high officials took two months time during the November 24 meeting to realise the money. And they must settle the issue within this time frame otherwise actions will be taken not only against them but also those who are responsible for signing this kind of deal,” said Russel, an Awami League lawmaker, adding that some other influential people were also involved in signing the agreement