Fraud in name of Messi; 43 litres of liquor seized from Anto Augustine’s house

KALPETTA: The excise department seized 43 litres of foreign liquor from the family home of Reporter TV owner Anto Augustine in Wayanad. In addition, seven litres of wine were also seized from the house.

After the liquor stock was found during the raid, the police called the excise department to take further action. The inspection was conducted by a team led by Kalpetta excise circle inspector Sharafudheen.

Liquor far exceeding the quantity legally permitted for an individual to possess was recovered from the house. The excise department is continuing its investigation into whether the seized liquor and wine were directly imported from abroad or manufactured locally, among other matters. Storing and distributing large quantities of liquor at home without a valid licence or temporary permit constitutes a serious violation of the law.

The SIT, which has registered a case in connection with the alleged Messi-related fraud, began raids at around 2 am today at the Reporter channel office, which sponsored the event, and at the residence of its owner, Anto Augustine. Raids are being conducted simultaneously at five locations, including Kochi and Wayanad. An FIR was registered after the preliminary investigation revealed serious irregularities.

According to the findings of the special investigation team appointed by the government to investigate the matter under the GST department, a fraud amounting to Rs 549.22 crore was allegedly carried out by promising to bring football legend Lionel Messi to Kerala. The entire alleged fraud was carried out under the leadership of Reporter Broadcasting Company, the principal sponsor.

The investigation team has reportedly uncovered irregularities including money laundering, unauthorised foreign-exchange transactions, secret US dollar account dealings, unaccounted non-banking loans, income-tax evasion, and manipulation of stamp-paper values. It has also become clear that state government agencies committed serious lapses in preventing the alleged fraud. The report concerning these findings was submitted to the government a few days ago.