Top Africa football boss facing Swiss probe over payments / Photo: © AFP
Top Africa football boss facing Swiss probe over payments
A top figure in African football's governing body is under investigation in Switzerland on suspicion of criminal mismanagement of funds, but insisted Thursday the bank transfers in question were "legitimate".
Veron Mosengo-Omba, general secretary of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquartered in Cairo, is being investigated in the western canton of Fribourg.
In a statement on X, he insisted the financial transfers under scrutiny were "legitimate", transparent and were "remuneration and bonus" received from CAF.
The Fribourg public prosecutor's office wanted the national Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland to handle the case.
But a Swiss court rejected that bid in a September 13 ruling, which only named the person involved as the general secretary of an organisation based in Egypt.
Swiss investigative news site Gotham City, which focuses on financial crime in Switzerland, on Wednesday named the person as Mosengo-Omba.
According to the court decision -- which Mosengo-Omba posted a link to -- the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) contacted the Fribourg prosecutors in February.
MROS said its analysis of transactions showed the general secretary "had, on several occasions, obtained bonuses much higher than the maximum set in his employment contract... and received all of these bonuses and salaries in a variety of Swiss accounts.
"We were unable to identify transfers between his Swiss accounts with establishments in Egypt."
- 'Full transparency' -
MROS cited transfers between personal accounts and cash withdrawals, "hindering any possibility of tracing the use of said funds".
"These various elements... constitute a bundle of evidence giving rise to suspicions of acts of criminal mismanagement", said MROS.
In a statement on X, Mosengo-Omba said the "legitimate and accountable" bank transfers "refer to remuneration and bonus I have received from CAF... and they were made in full transparency".
Noting that no criminal proceedings had been initiated, he said the money was "in full compliance with the CAF statutes".
"Nevertheless, and because it is in my interest that the matter is clarified quickly and definitely, I have notified the Prosecutor of the Canton of Fribourg of my availability to answer any queries and provide him with any information he may require.
"I also contacted the banks to clarify eventual doubts that may have arisen."
CAF has 54 national member associations and its president is the South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
The organisation is battling to improve its image after widespread allegations of corruption. Its previous president Ahmad Ahmad was suspended by FIFA in 2020 for financial misconduct.
Le Temps newspaper noted Thursday how Mosengo-Omba, a Congolese-Swiss dual national, fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1980 and studied law at the University of Fribourg, alongside current FIFA president Gianni Infantino, with the pair becoming friends.
S.Mitchell--TNT
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