FIFA announced on Friday that it had handed lifetime bans and heavy fines to two former football federation presidents, Bassam Adeel Jaleel of the Maldives and Vincent Cassell of Montserrat, as part of a wider crackdown on misconduct within its member associations.
Jaleel, the former president of the Maldives Football Association (FAM), had already been provisionally suspended months earlier while FIFA investigated allegations of money laundering, embezzlement and corruption. FIFA fined him one million Swiss francs, about $1.23 million.
Local media in the Maldives have reported that Jaleel is currently in prison, serving a 32-year sentence for depositing FIFA funds into his own bank account and using money from FIFA's COVID-19 Relief Plan to buy an apartment. According to those reports, he was due to be moved to house arrest a month ago at the request of a medical commission.
Montserrat federation president also banned
Cassell, the former president of the Montserrat Football Association (MFA), received the same lifetime disqualification and was ordered to pay an identical fine of one million Swiss francs. FIFA said the ban was for abuse of position, systemic conflicts of interest, misuse of FIFA and MFA funds, and conduct that violated the physical and psychological integrity of MFA staff.
FIFA, football's global governing body based in Zurich, Switzerland, oversees national federations worldwide and enforces its code of ethics through an independent Ethics Committee.
Two more officials sanctioned
FIFA also suspended Mohamed Ageel, the former director of finance and administration at FAM, for ten years and fined him 100,000 Swiss francs. FIFA said he facilitated and concealed the misuse of FIFA funds, used falsified documentation and failed to cooperate with the independent Ethics Committee.
Tandica Hughes, the former secretary general of the MFA, was suspended for 15 years and fined 150,000 Swiss francs. FIFA said she personally benefited from improper transactions involving FIFA and MFA resources and helped facilitate those transactions.
