Governor Om Prakash Mathur grants sanction to prosecute former sports minister Abdurahiman in Messi sponsorship case

Governor Om Prakash Mathur on Thursday granted permission to prosecute former Sports Minister V Abdurahiman under the Prevention of Corruption Act for what is now called the 'sponsorship scam' allegedly carried out in the guise of flying Messi and the Argentinian team that won the 2022 World Cup to Keralam.

The Governor's decision is based on a request made by Chief Minister V D Satheesan on the basis of the findings of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by ADGP (Law and Order) P Vijayan. The SIT had found that Abdurahiman had misused his official position to provide financial benefits to Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), the sponsor.

The investigation had revealed several serious lapses, including the grant of sponsorship to the RBC, violating norms and procedures, and bypassing government departments. Besides, the SIT assessed that GST fraud and irregularities amounting to crores of rupees had taken place.

According to the SIT, Abdurahiman told investigators that he had no role in the irregularities and that the lapses were committed by officials. During questioning, the former minister argued that it was the responsibility of officials to ensure that tender procedures were followed while picking the sponsor. The SIT, however, confronted the former minister with the sponsorship agreement between RBC and the Argentine Football Association that was allegedly facilitated through the minister's office, and also the government order granting the tax concession.

The SIT report had sought permission to register cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act against three other persons apart from the former minister: RBC owner Anto Augustine, Kerala Sports Council former president U Sharafali, and the minister's private secretary C Sathyapalan.

The government had sought the Governor's sanction as a matter of caution. The Director General of Prosecution had said that the Home Department had the authority to order an investigation into the corruption involving the former minister and officials. But the Law Department took the stand that the Governor should be approached since the actions of Abdurahiman that were sought to be investigated were carried out as a minister.