The proposed visit of Lionel Messi and the Argentina national football team to Kerala has turned into a multi-agency investigation, with authorities examining the financial transactions and procedures surrounding the event that was planned for 2025.

At the centre of the financial scrutiny is a ₹126.04-crore remittance made by Reporter Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd (RBC) to the Argentine Football Association (AFA) through its collection agent, Tour Prod Enter LLC, according to a detailed inquiry by the Kerala State GST Department's Special Investigation Team.

The GST SIT has separately quantified ₹25.78 crore in alleged tax dues against RBC.

The largest component, according to the report, is ₹22.68 crore in alleged IGST liability under the Reverse Charge Mechanism on the payments made to the AFA.

The report has said the tax liability remains subject to final determination under law.

The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in connection with the approximately ₹126-crore overseas remittance.

The agency is examining whether the transactions complied with foreign exchange regulations and whether they had a genuine underlying commercial purpose.

What happened to the Argentina-Kerala plan?

The Argentina national team's proposed Kerala visit was announced as a major football event, with the team and Messi expected to play a friendly in the state.

On August 23, 2025, the AFA officially listed Kerala among the venues for its November international window, alongside Angola.

However, the Kerala fixture was subsequently postponed. The sponsor, RBC managing director Anto Augustine, said the postponement was linked to delays in receiving FIFA approval.

At the time, then Sports Minister V Abdurahiman also said FIFA approval was still pending and that additional documents had been submitted.

The proposed November fixture ultimately did not take place. Contemporary reporting said the Kochi stadium was not included in the list of FIFA-approved venues for the planned match.

How the ₹126.04 crore came under scrutiny

The Kerala GST SIT's report, dated September 7, 2026, examined RBC's financial transactions in connection with the proposed Argentina event.

According to the report accessed by The Times of India, RBC had remitted ₹126.04 crore to the AFA through Tour Prod Enter LLC. The SIT calculated an alleged RCM IGST liability of ₹22.69 crore on that payment.

The same investigation quantified total alleged tax dues of ₹25.78 crore, including the AFA-related IGST, ₹34.15 lakh in alleged IGST liability on five payments to overseas legal counsel and ₹2.75 crore in allegedly ineligible input tax credit connected with stadium works and football club membership fees.

The SIT also flagged other financial transactions involving RBC and recommended that various matters be examined by the relevant agencies.

The company has disputed the allegations. RBC managing director Anto Augustine told The Times of India that the concerns had reached him through media reports and that the company had not been asked for its version before the report was prepared.

Police case and court-authorised searches

The financial scrutiny has also led to a criminal investigation. The Kerala Police SIT registered an FIR against RBC and its managing director Anto Augustine in connection with alleged irregularities surrounding the proposed Argentina event.

According to the FIR, the accused allegedly entered into a conspiracy and included allegedly false or unlawful clauses in an agreement with the AFA.

The FIR also alleges that arrangements were made for RBC to take over the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi and that a ₹5-crore security deposit was waived.

These are allegations contained in the FIR and have not been established as facts by a court.

Following the registration of the FIR, the police SIT conducted searches at five locations in Kochi and Wayanad after obtaining warrants from a court.

The locations included the RBC office and residences linked to the company's promoters.

The proposed event is therefore now being examined on several fronts.

The GST authorities are examining the company's tax liabilities, the ED is examining the overseas remittances under FEMA, and the Kerala Police SIT is investigating allegations relating to the agreements and arrangements surrounding the proposed Argentina visit.

The Kerala Sports Department had earlier conducted its own inquiry into the project. Its report raised questions about the procedure followed by the previous government, including the selection of RBC as sponsor.

It also stated that the document submitted by the AFA was not a formal commitment letter to the Kerala government or a legally binding assurance of the team's visit.

The Sports Department report further said that the proposed project had an estimated budget of around ₹210 crore, with approximately ₹198 crore expected to go to the AFA and projected event income of about ₹82 crore.

The Kerala government subsequently ordered a broader SIT investigation into the entire transaction, including the selection of RBC, the source and movement of funds, government permissions, the use of public assets and the roles of private companies and intermediaries.

For now, the ₹126.04 crore figure represents the amount identified as having been remitted to the AFA through Tour Prod Enter LLC. The separate questions of tax liability, FEMA compliance and alleged criminal wrongdoing remain matters for the respective investigations and legal processes to determine.