MS Dhoni, the ex-captain of Team India, has taken legal action against two previous business associates. His lawyer alleges they swindled approximately Rs 16 crore by failing to uphold their contract to set up cricket academies. Two directors of Aarka Sports, a sports management company, are being sued in a lower court regarding the filed case.

Dayanand Singh, representing Dhoni through Vidhi Associates, a law firm in Patna, confirmed the filing of a criminal case in a competent Ranchi court. The case targets Aarka Sports directors Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Biswas, citing violations under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC.

Singh elaborated that the accused had approached Dhoni back in 2017 with a proposal to set up cricket academies both in India and overseas. Initially, the agreement outlined Dhoni receiving the complete franchise fee, with profits to be divided on a 70:30 basis between Dhoni and the partners, as per Singh's statement.

Nevertheless, the partners proceeded to establish academies without Dhoni's awareness and failed to fulfill any payments as per the agreement. Singh further added that the authority letter granted to them was revoked on August 15, 2021.

Even after the revocation, they persisted in establishing cricket academies and sports complexes under Dhoni's name, neglecting to share any financial details or payments with him, as stated by his lawyer.

They received legal notices twice for breaching the terms of the agreement. Singh asserted that they proceeded to open academies in eight to ten locations, collecting funds and resulting in losses amounting to Rs 16 crore for Dhoni.

The criminal case was officially filed on October 27, 2023, presented before a first-class judicial magistrate in Ranchi. Simant Lohani, authorized by Dhoni, provided his statement before the magistrate on Friday, as detailed by Singh.