The Kerala government has said it has no bank or foreign-exchange documents to verify a reported Rs 126-crore payment by sponsor Reporter Broadcasting Company to bring Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team to the state, prompting a wider investigation into the proposed event and related financial transactions.
Minister O J Janeesh told the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Friday that the government could not confirm the payment claimed to have been made to the Argentine Football Association. He was responding to a question on whether the government had examined the company’s assertion that the money had been transferred.
According to the minister, the government did not have documents including a bank debit advice, SWIFT copy, Forms A2, 15CA and 15CB, a chartered accountant’s certificate or an official receipt from the recipient organisation. These documents would ordinarily help establish the movement, purpose and accounting treatment of a cross-border payment, but the minister did not confirm that any such records had been submitted to the government.
The issue is part of a broader inquiry into allegations involving financial transactions worth crores of rupees and possible violations of regulations connected with promises to bring Messi and the Argentina team to Kerala. Janeesh said the special secretary of the sports department had investigated the allegations before the matter was referred for further investigation.
“Based on the findings of the investigation report, the home department appointed a special investigation team as the investigating agency through a govt order dated Sept 3, 2026,” the minister said. The statement places the investigation under the state home department and gives the SIT responsibility for examining the findings and the related allegations.
The minister also told the Assembly that permission had been granted for a high-level delegation to visit Spain. The government order dated Aug 30, 2024, authorised the then sports minister, the then secretary of sports and youth affairs, and the director of sports and youth affairs to undertake the visit, Janeesh said.
The foreign trip has also been included within the scope of the investigation. The minister did not provide further details in the statement about the purpose of the visit, the expenditure involved, the outcome of any negotiations or whether the proposed football event had reached a formal agreement with the Argentine Football Association.
The government’s position, as stated in the Assembly, is limited to the absence of documents that could verify the reported payment. It does not establish from the material available whether the payment was made, whether it was received by the Argentine Football Association or whether the proposed visit was formally contracted. Those questions now form part of the investigation being handled by the SIT.
The case highlights the administrative trail required when public authorities, private sponsors and overseas sporting bodies are connected through a major event proposal. Bank records, foreign-exchange documentation, professional certification and official receipts are central to establishing whether a claimed transaction occurred and whether it complied with applicable regulations. The next publicly stated step is the SIT investigation into the allegations, financial transactions, regulatory issues and the delegation’s foreign trip.
