The Lionel Messi event has turned out to be a complete disaster for Satadru Dutta, as the Kolkata Police raided his house. After allegations about charging huge sums of money to take a photo with Lionel Messi, Dutta is being investigated for financial irregularities linked to the event held at Salt Lake Stadium.
According to reports, attendees were charged between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 30 lakh for a photograph with Messi. Police officials say that there are no records about such transactions, which has raised suspicions. Police are investigating whether the money was collected illegally during the event.
A team of 5 police officers from Bidhannagar Police conducted the raid at Dutta’s residence. The police found luxurious things like a swimming pool, a football ground on the terrace and a large office. Police are probing whether these luxurious assets were acquired through illegal money, which has been linked to the event.
The 100 crore question
The police probe has expanded beyond the mismanagement at the event, and are looking into financial irregularities that amount to Rs 100 crore. The investigators are looking into ticket sales, VIP passes, sponsorship deals, and possible misuse of funds. Dutta said that he had initially only issued 150 passes but was pressured into giving out more passes by influential figures.
The organiser also claimed that only half the tickets were sold at the stadium, which has a capacity of 66,000 and the rest were distributed for free; police found the statement dubious given the scale of the event and the money involved.
The police say that the raid was a procedural search, and no documents or electronic devices were seized; only a caretaker was present at the house, and all rooms were searched.
The court earlier rejected the bail plea of Satadru Dutta, and the police have frozen his bank accounts that contain Rs 22 crores.
