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Authorities in India have launched an investigation into the financing of the Indian Premier League following allegations of corruption.

Reuters reports that the billion dollar franchise was criticised in the country’s parliament, with some opposition politicians accusing the IPL of money laundering and illegal betting.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told parliament: "The concerned department has already started the investigation process.

"All aspects of IPL – including its source of funding, from where the funds were obtained, how it has been invested – will be looked into and the appropriate action as per law will be taken. No guilty [person] or wrongdoer will be spared."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) added that it will meet to discuss the allegations against the tournament, which is in its third season.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Times of India claimed: "The whole league is now under a cloud of suspicion.

"IPL has so far been a remarkable story. The format of mixing sport and entertainment has caught the imagination of players, fans and big business.

"Unless nurtured carefully, IPL stands to lose the gains it has made in the last three years."

Lalu Prasad, a former railways minister, said in parliament that IPL members "get money from Swiss banks and make it white money here", while a Communist lawmaker reportedly alleged that players were being bought "like vegetables".

However, IPL boss Lalit Modi has hit back, suggesting the allegations are politically motivated. He also vowed to sue any publications making defamatory claims against him or the IPL.

A statement from Modi said: “Mr Lalit Kumar Modi, chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has rubbished the front-page article that appeared today [Monday] in the Economic Times under the title ‘I-T Blows The Lid off IPL Sleaze – Lalit Modi charged with Betting & Laundering’.

“Describing the article as absolutely baseless, ill founded and motivated, Lalit Modi said that he will initiate appropriate legal action against such a defamatory and malicious campaign against him by a motivated section of media.”