By Andrew Warshaw
July 26 – FIFA’s new independent investigator has wasted no time to make his first move, suspending Mohamed Bin Hammam for 90 days little more than a week after the former Asian powerbroker had his life ban for bribery lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In what has become a legal and chronological minefield, American lawyer Michael Garcia imposed the fresh sanction in order to give him time to examine a detailed audit – commissioned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) – alleging widespread misuse of AFC funds by Bin Hammam (pictured above) when he was its President.
The audit was compiled by respected accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) but Bin Hammam and his advisors have expressed nothing less than disdain for its findings which led him to be suspended for 30 days by the AFC pending further developments.
His supporters and legal team are convinced the move – coming three days before the CAS verdict – was a deliberate ploy by opponents within the AFC to stop him regaining his power base.
Yet in a statement, FIFA said the decision to now ban the 63-year-old Qatari for another 90 days was taken “in order to prevent interference with the establishment of the truth in respect of a preliminary investigation”.
It said Bin Hammam could not take part “in any football-related activity at national at international level” during the period concerned.
As part of his mandate when appointed as one of two independent chairmen of FIFA’s revamped two-chamber Ethics Committee, Garcia (pictured above) was given carte blanche to search for fresh evidence that Bin Hammam did indeed bribe Caribbean voters during his challenge to Sepp Blatter for the Presidency last year.
At the very least, FIFA’s new suspension acts as a blocking tactic, preventing Bin Hammam from reclaiming his seat at the next FIFA Executive Committee meeting in Zurich on September 27 and 28.
Bin Hammam joined the FIFA Executive Committee in 1996 and was elected AFC President seven years later.
He has always denied any wrongdoing but if he thought the recent CAS verdict vindicated him he is now embroiled in potentially an even more inextricable plot, this time involving his own region.
And always in the background is the fact that the CAS panel, while ruling there was insufficient evidence against Bin Hammam, declined to pronounce the once all-powerful Qatari innocent of bribery, saying he was “more likely than not” the source of almost $1 million (£637,000/€814,000) in cash allegedly offered as $40,000 (£25,000/€32,000) payments to Caribbean officials during a lobbying visit to Trinidad and Tobago in May last year.
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