FIFA waiting for explanation over Haiti funds
Reuters - Tuesday 14 February 2012, 20:22
FIFA has confirmed that it is waiting for an explanation over
emergency aid for the Haiti earthquake disaster which failed to
reach its destination after being sent to the Trinidad & Tobago
(TTFF) football federation.
Football's governing body said that the money had been sent to
the TTFF in 2010 at the request of former executive committee
member Jack Warner, who was head of CONCACAF, the North, Central
American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) Confederation, at the time.
FIFA said in a statement sent to Reuters that $250,000 was
wired to the TTFF but the Haiti federation said it had only
received $60,000.
Football's governing body said it still has not received "a
satisfactory response" about what happened to the remaining
$190,000 and has stopped further payments to the Trinidad
federation.
"We can confirm that FIFA wired immediately after the
devastating earthquake $250,000 as an emergency aid for Haiti to
the account of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation
(TTFF)," said the statement.
"This was on request of the then CONCACAF President Jack
Warner and subsequently transferred to the TTFF account, in
order to immediately provide support to Haiti.
"FIFA can also confirm that it had been informed by the
Haiti Football Association (FHF) in autumn 2011 that it had only
received USD 60,000 of this emergency aid.
"Consequently FIFA, in a letter, requested in October 2011 a
full explanation from the TTFF into those funds.
"As FIFA has not received any satisfactory response, FIFA
has stopped with immediate effect any payments to the TTFF until
it will receive proper accounts of these funds allocated as an
immediate relief support to the FHF."
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed 300,000 people and left
1.5 million homeless in Haiti two years ago.
Warner, who often worked as a special advisor to the TTFF,
was a major FIFA powerbroker until he was suspended, then
resigned last June.
He quit as FIFA's ethics committee investigated his role in
a cash-for-votes scandal at a meeting in Port of Spain ahead of
last year's presidential election.
FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam, also at the
meeting, was suspended for life.
Warner is Works Minister in the Trinidad government and
continues to make news, with local media reporting earlier this
month that he had started a campaign to bring back hanging on
the Caribbean island.
FIFA said it had allocated a further $3 million to a special
Haiti fund which it controlled directly.
"The fund went towards restarting the Haitian championship
and purchasing sporting equipment and various materials for the
national technical centre, which was itself renovated and
extended," said FIFA.
"In addition, the special projects fund was used to build
the completely new FHF Headquarters on the training centre
property as the old one was completely destroyed in the
earthquake.
"Lastly, the Sylvio Cator Stadium in Port-au-Prince was
renovated, with an artificial pitch on the principal new
features as well as currently with the installation of
floodlights.