Published Nov 07, 2026 | 12:53 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 07, 2026 | 12:54 PM
A social media post by the then Sports Minister V Abdurahiman in June 2025 saying Messi will come.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stepped up its investigation into the failed bid to bring Lionel Messi and the Argentine national football team to Kochi for an international friendly in 2025, registering a money-laundering case over alleged financial irregularities linked to the proposed event.
The ED’s Kochi unit has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Anto Augustine, the authorised signatory of Reporter Broadcasting Company Private Limited, and the company.
The move follows an FIR registered by the Kalamassery police on September 15, 2026, on the recommendation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Messi event controversy.
The investigation centres on allegations of financial misappropriation and the collection of money through assurances that Messi and the reigning world champions would play in Keralam.
The ED is expected to examine the financial transactions associated with the proposed match, including the movement and utilisation of funds. The agency is also scrutinising transactions connected with the handover of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor in Kochi to Reporter Broadcasting Company.
The latest PMLA case comes alongside a separate investigation initiated by the ED under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in October. That probe is focused on alleged overseas fund transfers amounting to around ₹126 crore in connection with the proposed football event.
The agency is examining whether the transactions complied with foreign exchange regulations. Contracts and banking records, including documents relating to fund transfers through State Bank of India accounts, have reportedly come under scrutiny.
The news that Messi and the Argentine team would be coming to Keralam, during the previous LDF government’s tenure, had generated considerable excitement. However, the event failed to materialise, triggering allegations of financial irregularities and a police investigation.
With investigations ongoing under both PMLA and FEMA, the ED is examining the domestic financial transactions as well as the overseas movement of funds linked to the trip that never was.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
