Fraud allegations against the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba, have been cleared. Mosengo-Omba previously worked as FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer before becoming CAF’s General Secretary four years ago. He is also a close associate of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland announced last September that Mosengo-Omba was under investigation for allegedly making a series of suspicious payments to Swiss bank accounts. This was reported to the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS).
Mosengo-Omba was accused of having “repeatedly obtained bonuses” five times higher than the maximum allowed in his employment contract with the CAF. The investigators were apparently particularly concerned by several cash withdrawals that would hide “any possibility of tracing the use of said funds.” The MROS also referenced a “bundle of evidence, founding suspicions of acts of disloyal management to the benefit of Mosengo-Omba.”
Overall, he was investigated for dishonest management, fraud and forgery of documents, which threatened to “seriously tarnish Switzerland’s reputation.”
Mosengo-Omba refuted the claims and met with the Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office in November to provide information for the preliminary investigation. Mosengo-Omba stated that the bank transfers were “legitimate.” He expressed: “remuneration and bonus I have received from CAF since I have held the position of general secretary were made in full transparency.”
The Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office will not be taking further legal action against Mosengo-Omba since it found no basis to do so.
Prior to the allegations being cleared, Fribourg authorities expressed that the effects of the allegations against Mosengo-Omba would be “all the more significant on the reputation of the confederation in view of the professional and academic career of the person concerned in Switzerland.”
It continued: “The suspicions regarding the use, by the person concerned, of his banking relationship with Bank C to deposit the cash resulting from the offence of private corruption, would, in the event that they were to be confirmed, seriously tarnish Switzerland’s reputation in view of the major media trial that would ensue.”
However, it has now been made public that the Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office will not be taking this further, and Mosengo’s allegations have been cleared: “CAF welcomes the decision of the Swiss Public Prosecutor's Office and is pleased that there continues to be adherence and compliance within CAF and the CAF Secretariat, with the culture and commitment to ethics, transparency and governance that was introduced since the Presidency of Dr Patrice Motsepe,” CAF stated.
Despite this, Mosengo-Omba is still waiting for the verdict of an internal investigation into allegations of serious misconduct against him. It was reported that CAF’s own Audit and Compliance Committee had accused Mosengo-Omba of attempting to “whitewash” the investigation by appointing the auditors himself.
In response to these allegations, Mosengo-Omba voiced last July: “My efforts to turn around and regularise this institution, which has been disrespected at times, are being sabotaged by an out-of-the-blue report containing grievances without documented proof.”
He continued: “The planned independent investigation will expose the falsity and origin of this report.”
The president of CAF Patrice Motsepe is urging for this to soon be concluded as it has now been ongoing for six months.
-426-1737390505_-_28de80_-_28970e3913d42f5a7a8778811e9de4f72bc7eae8.jpg)