FIFA will withhold development funding to the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) until investigations relating to the association are concluded, FAM General Secretary Mohamed Jaushan Shareef has confirmed.
Earlier, FIFA, for a second time, ordered FAM to suspend its elections scheduled for 20 April.
The funding freeze comes at a time when lead FAM officials, most notably current president Bassam Adeel Jaleel, stand accused of embezzling money from FIFA and AFC — allegations FAM continues to deny. However, Jaleel was charge by the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) of Maldives, in January, with embezzlement and money laundering following an investigation into the misappropriation of US$10,000 from funds provided to FAM by FIFA and AFC.
The world’s football governing body, FIFA, will however be providing an additional US$81,000 to pay for FAM salaries, according to Shareef.
FIFA had previously decided to pay US$300,000 to cover FAM salaries, US$200,000 had already been transferred to FAM over two occasions, reducing the association’s salary backlog.
FIFA will therefore now pay US$181,000 to FAM, making up the remainder of the already pledged funds and the additional funds, which were offered in a bid to cover the salaries of the contracted technical staff who had not been paid, Shareef said.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) held talks with the police to expedite the investigation into corruption and money laundering charges against FAM officials.
On Sunday, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem met with the police investigation team and, according to the PGO, discussed remaining tasks as well as a timeline for concluding investigations. They also discussed ways to seek the necessary assistance from the authorities for the investigation, the PGO said.
“The evidence received so far in this case has been collected by the Prosecutor General’s Office. Prosecutors have studied the evidence and discussed what needs to be done,” the PGO revealed in a statement.
The prosecution requested that the police collect statements from the accused, complete other formalities and submit documentation for prosecution as soon as possible.
The PGO had earlier confirmed that the main subject relating to the corruption charges against FAM is the association’s president Bassam Adeel Jaleel.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has filed charges of money laundering and fraud against Jaleel at the Criminal Court for diverting US$10,000 designated by FIFA to FAM, into his personal accounts thus misappropriating funds for personal gain.
Police began investigating FAM on the orders of the Prosecutor General and had raided the association’s headquarters last October.