Messi event row: Police conduct search at Reporter TV office in Kochi
Police searched Reporter TV offices and homes of company heads as investigators probe alleged ₹25.78 crore tax evasion tied to the Messi visit plan.
- On Wednesday, the Special Investigation Team raided five locations connected to the Reporting Broadcasting Corporation in Kalamassery, targeting managing director Anto Augustine and his brothers Roji and Jose Kutty Augustine in a probe linked to a failed Lionel Messi initiative.
- The investigation stems from alleged financial misappropriation linked to an initiative to bring the Argentina national team to Kerala during the previous LDF government's tenure, with the SIT claiming tax evasion by RBC.
- Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner Bijoy Chandran led the search at the RBC headquarters, where officers reportedly seized journalists' mobile phones and disrupted newsroom operations, prompting immediate backlash from media organizations.
- Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the operation as a "one-and-a-half-hour-long terrorising situation," while the Kerala Union of Working Journalists denounced the raids as an "assault on democracy."
- The SIT's Detailed Inquiry Report estimates tax evasion at ₹25,78,20,675, including unpaid IGST on foreign remittances to the Argentina Football Association , and recommends a multi-agency probe into undisclosed accounts.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Keralam: SIT Searches Reporter TV Office, Promoters' Premises over Alleged Messi Visit Fraud; CM Satheesan Says Raid Part of Legitimate Probe
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police on Wednesday conducted extensive search operations at the headquarters of Malayalam news channel Reporter TV and the residences of its promoters, the Augustine brothers, in connection with an alleged fraud case related to the proposed visit of football icon Lionel Messi to the state. India News | Keralam: SIT Searches Reporter TV Offic…
Messi visit SIT probe: police launch searches at five locations
Apart from head office of Reporting Broadcasting Corporation, residences of its managing director Anto Augustine and those of his brothers and co-owners, Roji Augustine and Jose Kutty Augustine, as well as the house of administrative head are being searched
Messi Kerala visit fraud: SIT raids Reporter TV office, residences
Special Investigation Team raids five locations in Kerala regarding a financial fraud case involving Reporter Broadcasting Company and a proposed.Lionel Messi Kerala fraud, Reporter Broadcasting Company raids, financial irregularities Kerala, tax evasion Messi visit, multi-crore scam Kerala, Kerala news investigation, football icon Kerala deal, Augustine brothers probe, Goods and Services Tax evasion, Reverse Charge Mechanism scam, foreign remit…
Kochi: A massive investigation is underway in the state into the scam that took place in the name of bringing Messi to Kerala. SIT is conducting inspections at five locations in the early hours of the morning.
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