FIFA's corruption scandal "has been blown wide open again in a surprise court appearance" in N.Y., where a member of the organization’s finance watchdog "pleaded guilty" to taking around $1M in bribes, according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. Richard Lai, a 55-year-old U.S. citizen, is the president of the FA in Guam. Lai admitted "some of the bribes" he took from an "Asian faction" were "in order to identify other officials who would be open to bribery." He also admitted to taking $100,000 to support Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam against Sepp Blatter in the '11 presidential election. Lai also reportedly admitted receiving more than $850,000 in bribes between '09 and '14 from a member of the Kuwait FA "to use his influence to advance the interests of the Kuwaiti official, including helping the Kuwaiti official identify other members of the Asian Football Confederation to whom they could offer bribes." That link with Kuwait is an "uncomfortable development for the country’s Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah" (LONDON TIMES, 4/28). In Washington, Marissa Payne reported Lai also pleaded guilty to "failing to disclose foreign bank accounts" and agreed to forfeit roughly $1.1M. Acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York Bridget Rohde said in a statement, "Today’s plea marks another important step in our ongoing effort to root out corruption in international soccer" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/28).
STEPPING ASIDE: REUTERS' Simon Evans reported Sheikh Ahmad, a member of the FIFA Council and an IOC member, said on Sunday that he was "resigning all his posts in football." He issued a statement on Saturday "strongly" denying "any wrongdoing." He said, "With regards to alleged illegal payments to Richard Lai, I can only refer to my previous statement and vigorously deny any wrongdoing. I intend to work with all relevant authorities to disprove these for me totally surprising allegations" (REUTERS, 4/30). In London, Martyn Ziegler reported the indictment said that one of Lai’s co-conspirators was "a high-ranking official of Fifa, the Kuwait Football Association and the Olympic Council of Asia" who was "ultimately elected to Fifa’s executive committee." The only person who "fits that description" is Sheikh Ahmad, "though he has never been accused of wrongdoing" (LONDON TIMES, 4/29).
MORE TROUBLE: REUTERS' Prakash & Homewood reported in a "further sign of continued problems in FIFA," the organization's ethics committee said that it had "opened formal proceedings" against Caribbean Football Union President Gordon Derrick in an "unrelated case." FIFA's ethics panel said in a statement that its investigators "recommended a ban of at least four years" and a fine of at least 15,000 Swiss francs ($15,120) for Derrick, who is also general secretary of the Antigua & Barbuda FA. The probe centers on "alleged conflicts of interest, offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, mismanagement of funds, abuse of position and disloyalty," it said (REUTERS, 4/28).
SUSPENSION LIFTED: The BBC reported the Confederation of African Football confirmed that the suspension of Mali's FA (FEMAFOOT) was lifted by FIFA. Mali was "originally banned from global football in March" after Mali Sports Minister Housseïni Amion Guindo dissolved the exec committee of FEMAFOOT (BBC, 4/29).
