After Messi fiasco, Govt to probe ₹3.62 crore sports summit spend

Thiruvananthapuram: Close on the heels of a probe into the botched bid to bring the Argentine football team to Kerala, the Sports Department is now set to launch another inquiry into alleged financial irregularities and procedural lapses surrounding the International Sports Summit Kerala, organised by the previous Left Democratic Front government.

The four day summit, held in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2024, had earlier drawn widespread criticism over allegations of lavish spending running into crores of rupees. Awarding contracts for event management and catering related to the event had also triggered controversies.

Soon after the summit, Olympian Anju Bobby George urged the government to order a comprehensive probe into alleged corruption in its conduct. Since then, the Sports Department has received several more complaints related to the event.

The then Sports Minister claimed that the summit succeeded in securing investments worth ₹4,500 crore in Kerala's sports sector. However, RTI documents subsequently revealed that not a single rupee of the promised investment materialised. The minister's claim that 10,000 jobs would be created in the sports sector within a year also fell flat.

The summit, organised through the Sports Kerala Foundation under the Sports Department, was touted as a major initiative to boost the state's sports economy. Though the event initially received administrative sanction for ₹88 lakh, the expenditure surged to ₹3.62 crore by the time it concluded.

Of this, ₹78.44 lakh was spent on venue arrangements and ₹76 lakh on publicity. The catering contractor was paid ₹32.1 lakh, while ₹37.5 lakh was spent on the travel expenses of participants and ₹20 lakh on accommodation. Another ₹40 lakh was spent on art and cultural programmes.

The proposed departmental inquiry is expected to examine the expenditure as well as the decisions taken by the LDF government in awarding various contracts.

Messi deal throws up another money trail
Meanwhile, the GST special investigation team (SIT) has flagged a separate money trail linked to sponsorship funds collected for the proposed visit of the Argentine football team, including star striker Lionel Messi, to Kerala.

According to a preliminary report by the SIT, the sponsorship money came from two financial institutions, with the funds from one of them being extended as a loan. The report indicates that around ₹133.64 crore was transferred to the sponsor account by one institution, while another ₹73.23 crore was received as a loan from a second institution.

The SIT has submitted its preliminary report to the GST Commissioner, though it has not yet been forwarded to the government. The Commissioner is expected to add recommendations before sending the report to the government.