10 Caribbean Officials Probed for Taking Bribes

August 9, 2011

10 Caribbean officials are under investigation after allegations they took money from Mohamed Bin Hammam, a candidate in the presidential election.

FIFA on July 26 gave the officials from the Caribbean Football Union 48 hours to come forward with information about a meeting where Mohamed Bin Hammam, a one-time challenger to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, allegedly offered envelopes stuffed with $40,000. Bin Hammam, the former head of soccer in Asia, is appealing the lifetime ban he was given from the sport.

FIFA’s ethics panel will meet today and is likely to bring the cases after more witnesses came forward to give details of the May 9 and 10 meeting at a hotel in Port-of- Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, according to one of the people with knowledge of the investigation. The pair were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

FIFA said in an e-mailed statement. “We cannot speculate on what will happen,” Ben Spencer, a spokesman for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, didn’t respond to an e-mail or telephone messages seeking comment.

Bin Hammam has been excluded sice July 23. FIFA has spent a year trying to deal with corruption allegations linked to the presidential election as well as the choice of host for the World Cup, which brings in $4 billion but this endeavour doesnt seem it will end any time soon.