By Andrew Warshaw
May 1 – Organisers of an established anti-corruption conference have accused FIFA of scare-mongering tactics over a session to be given by controversial British investigative journalist Andrew Jennings (pictured).
Jennings, who has waged an ongoing battle with FIFA for the best part of two decades, is among the speakers at the annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference in Miami where he is due to outline allegations of fraud within the world governing body.
According to the conference organisers, they have received a letter from the London-based law firm Cartier & Co, acting on behalf of FIFA, issuing a thinly-veiled threat of a possible libel action should Jennings’ remarks include any “defamatory statements”.
The letter further suggested that we “make our client’s concerns known to the sponsors of the Conference.”
Jennings is scheduled to speak on Tuesday (May 4), the final session of the three-day conference that concentrates on global fraud and financial mismanagement and is attended by senior law enforcement and anti-corruption figures.
The annual conference builds on more than a decade of exposing serious crime and topics to be debated include fraud detection and prevention, money laundering, financial compliance and intelligence gathering.
Jennings, who has waged a continuous personal vendetta against FIFA and many of its leading administrators, is due to speak on “Corruption in Soccer - The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals”.
A press release issued by organisers insisted he would not be gagged.
Publisher David Marchant, whose investigate monthly newsletter OffshoreAlert has organised the cutting-edge conference, said: “Anyone who is familiar with the history of OffshoreAlert should know that threats of libel action will not dissuade us from presenting information fairly and accurately to our audience, whether it is in our newsletter or at our conference.”
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