Report says FIFA secretary general behind payment to officials in bribery probe

A report from Berlin indicated that US authorities believe that FIFA Secretary-General, Jerome Valcke, was behind the football body’s payments to officials being investigated in a bribery probe.

A source with knowledge of the investigation said it was Valcke who authorised a payment of $10 million to accounts controlled by a former football official, now under criminal investigation.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Valcke was the unidentified “high-ranking FIFA official” mentioned in a US indictment in the probe of former FIFA Vice President, Jack Warner.

He said authorities are investigating the transfer of the sum paid by FIFA on behalf of 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa.

The country’s officials had been unable to pay directly from government funds.

The source said US indictments did not identify Valcke, the right-hand man to FIFA President, Joseph Blatter, in football’s world governing body, as a co-conspirator.

He said the indictment also does not say the high-ranking official knew that the money was being used as a bribe.

Meanwhile, FIFA on Tuesday admitted that $10 million was paid to Warner following a request by the South African Government.

It said South African officials said the money was to “support the African Diaspora in Caribbean countries as part of the World Cup legacy”.

FIFA said in a statement that, at the request of the South African Government and in agreement with the country’s football association, SAFA, it “was asked to process the project’s funding”.

It said this was by withholding the $10 million from the South African local organising committee’s operational budget.

SAFA instructed FIFA that the Diaspora Legacy Programme should be administered and implemented directly by Warner, who was President of CONCACAF.

It said Warner at that time was Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee and who should act as the fiduciary of the Diaspora Legacy Programme Fund of the $10 million.

The statement said neither Valcke nor any other member of FIFA’s senior management was involved in the initiation, approval and implementation of the above project.

Warner was one of 14 people indicted in the US last week on bribery and corruption charges.

Part of the indictment focuses on Warner allegedly taking a bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 World Cup.

South Africa has denied the money was a bribe in connection with the World Cup.

dpa/NAN.