Fraud in name of Messi; SIT formed under ADGP P Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the fraud committed in the name of bringing football legend Lionel Messi to Kerala. The minister said that it has been understood that there were legal issues related to the financial transactions associated with bringing Messi to the state. Based on this, the investigation will be conducted by a team headed by ADGP P Vijayan.

‘The order regarding this will be released by this evening. A team comprising an ADGP, an SP and a DySP has been formed. The letter given by the chief minister and the legal opinion report will be handed over to the team. They have been asked to submit the investigation report as soon as possible,’ the minister said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in connection with a sponsor transferring Rs 126 crore to a foreign agency in the name of bringing Messi to Kerala. The ED’s preliminary finding was that the sponsor had not complied with FEMA provisions. For the ED to investigate whether the money was used for money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), another agency would first have to register a case. However, there was no legal obstacle to registering a case under FEMA, which is why the ED initiated the case on its own.

The case was registered after examining documents related to the transfer of the money, the agreement signed by the sponsor and other supporting documents. The ED had also collected the report and documents submitted by the state sports department secretary. It is also learnt that the agency examined information gathered by the intelligence wing of the GST Department.