Anto Augustine arrested by Excise in Abkari case
Anto Augustine, the managing director of Reporter TV, was arrested by Kerala excise officials for illegal possession of liquor. The arrest follows a search operation linked to an ongoing investigation into a failed international football event involving Lionel Messi.
Why it matters
The arrest of a prominent media executive in connection with a high-profile financial fraud investigation highlights ongoing legal scrutiny of regional business figures in India.
Excise officials from Wayanad took into custody Anto Augustine, 38, managing director of Malayalam news channel Reporter TV, on Thursday (September 17, 2026) morning on charges of alleged possession of liquor in excess of the legally permissible limit.
He was taken into custody around 5 a.m. from the channel’s office at Kalamassery in Ernakulam. The move followed the reported recovery of 67 litres of liquor — beyond the permissible limit for possession — from his ancestral residence in Muttil South Village, Vythiri Taluk, Wayanad, on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) during a search operation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The SIT is probing the alleged financial fraud linked to the failed bid to bring the Argentine national team and Lionel Messi to Kochi for an international friendly last year.
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