Jack Warner, the embattled former Fifa vice-president at the centre of corruption charges, faces a new slew of allegations as more details emerge of payments that were reportedly diverted to bank accounts he controlled.
In papers drawn up by US investigators and seen by the BBC, Warner is accused of diverting $750,000 in emergency funds donated by Fifa and the Korean Football Association intended for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
The BBC reports US investigators alleging the money went to accounts controlled by Warner, at “Warner’s direction” for his “personal use”.
Warner was arrested last month in Trinidad at the request of US authorities, and faces extradition on charges of corruption and money laundering.
In 2012, the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) claimed that funds donated for Haiti were paid into a bank account controlled by Warner. It said the money from Fifa ($250,000) and the South Korean FA ($500,000) was paid into a TTFF account it claimed only Warner — a special adviser to the federation — controlled.
At the time, Warner said the allegations were a conspiracy: “I have nothing to answer to anybody. Who wants to make allegations, make allegations.”
Fifa froze its funding to the TTFF. Warner has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Frank Lowy, president of Football Federation Australia (FFA), has said he would welcome an inquiry into a A$500,000 payment made as part of Australia’s failed bid to host the 2022 World Cup bid. That money, too, is alleged to have ended up in a bank account belonging to Warner.
In an interview with Sky News Australia, Lowy said: “I have made no offer to him. I have not negotiated with him.
“We were trying to influence the whole world. He was one of those people that we were hoping were going to vote for us.
“But I think there were a lot of other countries that thought so also because he made promises to them. But he made no promise to me.”
He said the A$500,000 payment — to fund a feasibility study to develop a centre of excellence in Trinidad & Tobago — was paid out to create “goodwill” for Australia.
Lowy insisted the country had run a clean bid but he now realised “we never stood a chance” of hosting the tournament, which went to Qatar.
He called on Sepp Blatter, Fifa’s retiring president, to step down soon: “The quicker the change comes, the better.”
In the meantime, Australia has shelved its bid, announced a month ago, to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup. “In the current volatile environment, FFA can give no consideration to bidding for any Fifa tournament,” the FFA said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Fifa’s problems are deep-rooted and tangled in a culture that has developed over decades. Until such time that the existing governance model is overhauled, it’s hard to imagine the circumstances in which FFA would put Australia forward as a bidding nation.”
— Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2015
