A senior FIFA official and his family who were paid almost US$2 million by a Qatari firm linked to the country’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup tried to get at least one Cayman Islands bank to process the transaction, according to a report by the Daily Telegraph.
Former FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner appears to have been personally paid around $1.2 million by a firm controlled by a former Qatari football official, shortly after the decision to let the country host the tournament.
Documents also show payments totalling $750,000 to Warner’s sons and an extra $400,000 paid to one of his employees, the Telegraph reported.
When the Cayman Islands bank refused to process the payment amid fears over the legality of the money transfer, the funds were eventually processed via a bank in New York – a transaction that is understood to have come under the FBI’s attention, the newspaper reported.
It is understood that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating Trinidad-based Warner and his alleged links to the Qatari bid. The former FIFA official’s eldest son, who lives in Miami, has been assisting with the inquiry as a cooperating witness.
The awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a controversial decision. The intense summer heat in the desert nation has raised the prospect of the event being held in winter for the first time.
Although Qatar has repeatedly denied wrongdoing during the bidding process, the decision has long been suspected to be flawed and several members of the FIFA committee have faced graft allegations.
When asked for a comment on this latest revelation in the Warner saga, a spokesman for the Cayman Islands Football Association said it had no comment.
When the Cayman Islands bank refused to process the payment amid fears over the legality of the money transfer, the funds were eventually processed via a bank in New York — a transaction that is understood to have come under the FBI’s attention.
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