the biggest scandal in african football history, Ahmad Ahmad, president of The confederation of African Football, CAF, however, committed a bit of a stroke of genius.
In a time where his entire organization is being sønderflænset of fraud and corruption cases, and where he himself is under heavy fire from soon all of the pages, he has managed to conclude an agreement with the egyptian government, which ensures CAF diplomatic status, and therefore of political immunity for ten years.
headquarters in Cairo, and the immunity applies to the organization as a whole, but when it comes to people, only Ahmad, and his three vice presidents, Constant Omari, Fauzi Lekja and Dany Jordaan, covered. And only while they are staying in Egypt.
the Question is whether Ahmad at all want to leave Egypt. In France there is a special svindelenhed with the police started an investigation of his connections to the French company, Tactical Steel, who has sold sporting goods for millions of dollars to the CAF. Ahmad has been very involved in the trades, and an independent audit firm will not exclude the possibility that there may be a case of kickbacks.
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auditors from PwC, as from september to end of december last year underwent the economy and the cash flows of the CAF. Among other things, they have studied how the many millions of dollars that FIFA sends to the CAF each year in the so-called Forward-project is used. And for what.
The secret audit report is of 55 pages. Ekstra Bladet has had the opportunity to read it, and it raises undeniably a number of issues. We mention interchangeably:
* Why is Ahmad Ahmad not for the longest time thrown at the gate?
* Why has FIFA not long since intervened?
* Is the reason, that the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino even have been too close to Ahmad Ahmad?
* From august last year to 1. February of this year sent the Infantino his nearest employee, secretary general, Fatma Samoura, to CAF's headquarters in Cairo to clear up in the store. But why say FIFA, that the mission is completed, when the report from PwC says the exact opposite?
* And why even this PwC report when the FIFA already in 2017 was aware that the Forward-the money was misused in many places in Africa? It revealed a number of european media in 2018 in the series Football Leaks. It showed the internal documents of FIFA that Infantino called Forward his own prestige project – for a failure. It was supported by his former special advisor, the Norwegian Kjetil Siem, who in internal memos in 2018 wrote, that it can end up with both the Forward programme and FIFA loses reputation.
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Kjetil Siem warned that FIFA could be harmed. And he was right. oto: Shur Stølen / Digitalsport/ Ritzau Scanpix
safely say that Kjetil Siem was right. And one can rightly wonder why FIFA have for so long been sitting on information about the scams with the Forward the money without reacting. And why they are playing again oysters in connection with the PwC report, which was handed over to CAF and FIFA 2. december and immediately stamped secret.
the Seat burning under Ahmad's Ahmad, but it can also quickly make under Gianni Infantino, if not FIFA will soon get started with a clean-up after the extensive abuse of the football money. Let us take a few examples from Africa.
PwC covers the years from 2015 to 2019. In the period of time, has FIFA sent many hundreds of millions of Forward-crowns to the CAF for the development of the soccer ball. In the report notes the PwC, to 160 million dollars has ended up in the wrong places.
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the CAF has, among others, used 700,000 of football's money on a pilgrimstur to Mecca. In the front left holding the Ahmad Ahmad the mask, while Hany Abu Rida from Egypt in mid-smirk. It is not something as a free journey. In the picture is also the general secretary of CAF, Mouad Hajji. Photo: Private.
the Auditors have not been able to find the annex, or evidence of the mind-boggling many payouts. Quite a lot of money has been paid as advance payment, without subsequently provided evidence for the money's use.
In march 2018 sent the CAF via a bank transfer 3.5 million dollars to Burundi, where there should be organized a U17 match. There is no documentation of the event.
* In november 2017 sent the CAF via a bank transfer 2.8 million dollars to south Africa for a U20 match. There is no documentation of the event.
* In april 2018 sent the CAF via a bank transfer 2.7 million dollars to Liberia's Football association to an U20 match. There is no documentation.
could we be at. The report from PwC is full of similar examples. Moreover, one can wonder, that a youth match can cost several million dollars to arrange.
In the opinion of CAF's executive committee, which yesterday had gathered in Doha, Qatar, states that Forward-money is strictly regulated by the rules that FIFA has set.
In other words, send the CAF the Buck back to FIFA, which still holds up amazingly silent. But how can it not continue, if Infantino would like to continue in his job.
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It flows with cashthe CAF has not only shot many millions off via wire transfers to matches and events, for which there is no evidence for. The federation has also paid out millions of dollars in cash.
Auditors from PwC could not provide a complete overview of how the cash splashed out of the CAF’s box. There was no system, and very little control. And certainly no explanation as to why the money was paid in cash.
For example, the CAF president Ahmad Ahmad 25. June 2018 paid 340.000 dollars in cash. On the same day got his advisor stuck of 250,000 crowns in his hand. Without any kind of documentation.
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Ahmad Admad got a solid dime in cash. Photo: Lars Poulsen
on several occasions, members of CAF's executive committee had paid 170.000 dollars in cash.
A special payout took place at the CAF congress in Ethiopia in 2017, where Ahmad Ahmad, incidentally, was elected as president.
Here was the staff from the CAF headquarters in Cairo set to smuggle in a total of 1.5 million crowns in cash from Egypt to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
in Order to circumvent the egyptian rules for the execution of currency the money was distributed in bundles, with each $ 10,000, which employees had to make sure to bring over the border.
In Addis Ababa, ethiopia, the money was shared out to the members of the executive committee, to their wives, to the delegates and selected guests. There were many brown envelopes in circulation.
the CAF supplied no documentation for the disbursements, writes the auditors from PwC in their report.
by the way, got the auditors not have all the information they asked for from the CAF. They had no access to the CAF's overview of travel expenses and payments of bonuses and lump-sum payments. Here there was no help to be found in the management of CAF.
See also: FIFA-boss is pressed by african scandal
See also: to develop the soccer ball: Used to 700,000 on a pilgrimage
See also: Chaos in Africa: 'A bad joke'
