Messi event row: Keralam CM orders constitution of SIT for anti-corruption, suspected tax fraud inquiry

Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Monday directed the Home Department to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) for a sweeping anti-corruption and suspected tax fraud inquiry into the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s “botched-up” endeavour to bring the 2021 FIFA World Cup-winning Argentina team and its iconic captain, Lionel Messi, for a friendly exhibition match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in August 2025. Officials told The Hindu that Mr. Satheesan had sent a letter to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala flagging the findings of the Finance department’s recently concluded inquiry into the suspected Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion on foreign remittances made by the sponsor, a television news broadcasting company, ostensibly to secure the presence of Messi and his famed team.According to them, the inquiry found that the sponsoring firm had wire transferred ₹126 crore to a foreign entity through banking channels in 2025. It concluded that the transaction automatically triggered a service tax obligation of €22.68 crore to the exchequer. Officials said Mr. Satheesan also ordered the Home department to investigate the suspected conspiracy to defraud the treasury. If the impending VACB and Crime Branch inquiries reveal a cognisable offence, officials said, the agencies’ findings could potentially open the door to further investigation into the alleged international money-laundering angle by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation.They said the two back-to-back inquiries by the Sports and Finance departments raised several regulatory red flags, including an alleged lack of Cabinet clearance, mandatory market value assessment to determine the sponsor’s budgetary capacity, absence of open tendering, and failure to solicit expressions of interest from other potential bidders before wrapping up the pricey and high-profile agreement to host Messi and the Argentine football team in Kochi. The Finance department inquiry faulted GST officials for putting the brakes on holding the sponsor to account for suspected tax evasion. The sponsor has taken the legal defence that it owed the State no service tax, since the event had not taken place as planned. The GST inquiry, officials said, expressed profound scepticism about the sponsoring firm registering a new company, allegedly with a paltry capital, before approaching the previous LDF government with the big-ticket scheme that induced feverish anticipation among football fans in Keralam. They said the government had reportedly sought legal opinion on whether to refer the “Messi fiasco” to the Registrar of Companies and also the Serious Fraud Investigation Office for simultaneous inquiries. Published - August 31, 2026 08:09 pm IST