NewsIndia

By Ishaan Kapoor — 11 August 2026 — 4 min read

An official inquiry report from the Kerala Sports Department has identified what it describes as a significant financial and procedural scam concerning the unsuccessful effort to bring football icon Lionel Messi and the Argentina national football team to the state. The investigation, which was vetted by Sports Department Special Secretary N. Prasanth, has been officially submitted to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan by Sports Minister O.J. Janeesh. The report highlights serious violations of government regulations and the alleged misuse of state resources.

The probe found that Reporter Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) was chosen as the commercial partner for the event without any public tender or competitive bidding process. This unilateral selection is a key point of contention in the report. According to the inquiry, the private partner claimed to have transferred Rs. 126 crore to the Argentine Football Association (AFA) through a US-based intermediary. However, investigators found no banking records or documentary evidence to confirm that this transaction ever took place.

Procedural Lapses and Misrepresentation

The inquiry further revealed that no legally binding tripartite agreement was established between the state government, the AFA, and the sponsor. Instead, a generic commercial brochure issued by the AFA was allegedly misrepresented as an official commitment letter. This misrepresentation was reportedly used to secure necessary clearances from the Union Sports Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The report also strongly criticised former Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman for leading a high-profile delegation to Spain. This trip was allegedly undertaken under the guise of finalising arrangements for the match and reportedly cost the state exchequer Rs. 14 crore. The inquiry committee has characterised the entire episode as a multi-crore fraud with potential cross-border implications.

Another significant finding in the report concerns the irregular handover of the Kochi Kaloor Stadium to the private sponsor. The venue was transferred under the pretext of renovation work related to the match. This transfer was accompanied by an unauthorised financial concession amounting to Rs. 5 crore. The report indicates that the decision to waive off the security deposit, rent, taxes, and other charges for RBC had the official sanction of the Chief Minister.

The stadium was made available for construction works without final confirmation of the match, official FIFA/AIFF (All India Football Federation) match registration, prior approval from the Law and Finance Departments, and without insurance and bank guarantee provisions for recovery of damages, which are mandated by law. The stated goal for these actions was to upgrade the stadium to international standards.

High-Level Indictment and Recommendations

The inquiry report on the proposed Lionel Messi visit also implicates former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Chief Secretary A Jayatilak. It suggests they disregarded constitutionally mandated rules and procedures to expedite an event that lacked a formal commitment from the Argentine Football Association. Records unearthed by Sports Department Special Secretary N Prasanth indicate that the former Chief Minister went out of his way to favour Reporter Broadcasting Corporation (RBC).

The report states that there is clear evidence of a conscious attempt to circumvent established rules. It notes that high-level review meetings chaired by the Chief Minister or Chief Secretary, or committees formed subsequently, are not legally capable of validating fundamental defects and procedural lapses arising from non-compliance with constitutional file procedures. The report was particularly critical of the then Chief Secretary’s leadership role, suggesting that the state government played a secondary role to a private company.

The large-scale deployment of government machinery and IAS officers for a private commercial venture, without ensuring the necessary safeguards required by rules, constitutes a grave institutional failure of supervision at the highest level of the Secretariat. This indicates either pre-planned connivance or a lack of understanding of the basic rules governing secretariat processes. The report clarifies that the Chief Secretary, in matters involving multiple state departments and international contracts, had a specific responsibility to ensure compliance with the Rules of Business, completion of Finance/Law scrutiny, final consent from the AFA, FIFA/AIFF approval, transparent sponsor selection, exclusion of government liability, and securing public-asset safeguards.

The report concludes that the activation of state machinery without such documentary foundation was not merely an ordinary failure of coordination. It recommends a comprehensive criminal investigation and urges the state government to transfer the case to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. Additionally, it calls for central agencies to investigate potential money-laundering and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations, and wants leadership-level failure to be a principal charge in the proposed departmental inquiry.

Source: thestatesman.com