The Special Investigation Team (SIT) recorded the statement of former Sports Minister V. Abdurahman in connection with his Spain visit and the selection of the sponsor for the proposed footballer Lionel Messi’s tour to the state. There were allegations of financial irregularities pertaining to the promise to bring Lionel Messi and the Argentina team to Kerala.
Reportedly, the interrogation took place earlier this week and lasted nearly four hours. The questioning was based on the former minister’s Spain visit and the manner in which Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Reporter Broadcasting Company, was selected as the sponsor, the intervention of the minister’s office in the process and the documents collected during raids at the offices of Reporter Broadcasting Company and the residence of Anto Augustine, one of the major accused in the Messi Gate case.
The other day, the SIT examined the e-mail correspondence between the minister’s office, the Argentina Football Association and the sponsor. The minister’s statement was recorded on the basis of these documents and the questionnaire prepared by the SIT. There are reports that the minister’s correspondence was copied to Anto Augustine.
Earlier, there were reports that questions had arisen regarding the procedures followed for selecting Reporter Broadcasting Company and Anto Augustine as sponsors for bringing the Argentina team and Messi to Kerala. The SIT is also inquiring into the selection of the sponsors without following tender procedures.
The SIT is looking into the alleged intervention of the minister’s office in handing over the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, to Anto Augustine for conducting the football match.
According to reports, the related documents have been examined, along with the allegation that there was unusual intervention in handing over the stadium to Anto Augustine. The SIT will also examine whether the allegation that the former minister had granted unjustified support to Anto Augustine is true.
Cheating and conspiracy are the allegations against Anto Augustine and Reporter Broadcasting Company. Various documents and electronic devices are being examined in connection with the case.
The financial aspects of the case have also come under scrutiny. Around ₹126 crore was reportedly transferred by Reporter Broadcasting Company to a foreign entity in two instalments in 2025. The proposed project was estimated to involve around ₹210 crore in expenditure, while the Argentina Football Association match fee was reportedly estimated at ₹198 crore.
The financial inquiry also identified suspected GST evasion of ₹25.78 crore in transactions linked to the proposed event. Of this, ₹22.68 crore reportedly relates to non-payment of IGST under the Reverse Charge Mechanism. The total GST demand, including tax, penalty and interest, could reportedly reach around ₹56.32 crore.
Questions have also been raised over financial transactions of around ₹200 crore through accounts associated with Anto Augustine and Reporter Broadcasting Company. The transactions and the explanation given for them are being examined.
Abdurahman’s Spain visit, for which the government reportedly spent ₹13 lakh, has also come under scrutiny. Questions have been raised over the arrangements made for the proposed Argentina-Messi event and the use of government resources in connection with it.
The case has now taken a further turn, with reports that the SIT has recommended registration of a case against the former minister under the Prevention of Corruption Act over alleged misuse of official position.
Messi Gate has become an insult to the injury for the CPM-led Left Democratic Front and its supremo and former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Pinarayi Vijayan is already under pressure over the CMRL-Exalogic case, in which his daughter Veena Vijayan and her husband and former minister P. A. Mohammed Riyas are allegedly involved.
