Maldives' ex-FA chief charged with fraud, money laundering
Maldivian football industry has suffered badly during Bassam's tenure as FAM president.
Prosecutors have charged former president of Football Association of Maldives (FAM) Bassam Adeel Jaleel with fraud and money laundering.
According to the PG Office, one of the issues highlighted so far in the investigation is that of the USD 10,000 deposited by FIFA to FAM in 2018, which was transferred to Bassam's personal account on August 26, 2018.
The prosecutor's office on Thursday said these charges were filed in the Criminal Court against Bassam:
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Fraud charges: Bassam deposited USD 10,000 donated by FIFA under the guise of currency exchange to his own account and the investigation found that Bassam never returned the money to FAM; and the money was used for Bassam's personal use
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Money laundering charges: FAM’s USD 10,000 deposited in Bassam's personal account was used to set up Glacier Investments Pvt Ltd, which he and his wife own. He also used USD 2,000 of the money to pay the rent of the Rehendhi flat he had leased. In addition, the money was transferred to various people and spent on things unrelated to FAM
The prosecutor's office said that if Bassam is convicted of fraud, the punishment is:
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1 year, 7 months and 6 days in prison
If convicted of money laundering, the penalty is:
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Along with a fine ranging from MVR 100,000 to MVR 1,000,000, jail time for a term between five to 15 years; or only the jail term
The prosecutor's office said on Thursday that the investigation into the case is still ongoing. Therefore, further prosecutions could still be made as the case progresses.
Maldivian football industry has suffered badly during Bassam's tenure as FAM president. One of the reasons is the mismanagement of the administration of FAM. Thus:
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The agency has been running without sufficient funds and the salaries of the employees and the national team players and officials have not been paid for a long time
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Many projects started for the development of football have stalled
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Many people who were not paid by the FAM are suing in civil court
Some members of the FAM executive committee resigned and Bassam lost his presidency. The FAM is working to re-elect an executive committee.
