October 3 – Confederation of African Football (CAF) secretary general Véron Mosengo-Omba is having a bad couple of months. Fribourg prosecutor’s office is investigating a series of suspicious payments made to Swiss bank accounts. The news follows a CAF audit report that called for his suspension.
The detail of the Swiss investigation, reported by the Gotham City investigative website, has emerged via a Federal Criminal Court (FCC) public disclosure on October 2, saying that Veron is under investigation for suspicion of dishonest management, fraud and forgery of documents. The Gotham City investigate website
The Fribourg Public Prosecutor’s Office , which is investigating the case, said that the case could compromise Switzerland’s reputation.
Mosengo-Omba is one of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s closest allies having been parachuted into Africa to run the confederation that has been the bedrock of Infantino’s supporter base in FIFA.
The investigation into Mosengo-Omba was formally opened on February 20, 2024, following an investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the canton of Fribourg. A number of suspicious transaction reports to Swiss accounts were sent to the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS).
One highlighted issue was that on several occasions Mosengo-Omba obtained bonuses 5x higher than the maximum in his employment contract with CAF.
MROS mentions a “bundle of evidence founding suspicions of acts of disloyal management to the benefit of Mosengo-Omba”.
The Fribourg authorities said the “impact” of the suspicions targeting Véron Mosengo-Omba would be “all the more significant on the reputation of the Confederation (FIFA) in view of the professional and academic career of the aforementioned in Switzerland”.
The Fribourg Public Prosecutor’s Office has referred the matter to the Federal Criminal Court.
News of the criminal investigation into Mosengo-Omba in Switzerland follows CAF’s confirmation in early August that it is investigating allegations of corruption within its secretariat following media claims of serious misconduct by its Mosengo-Omba.
A CAF statement said it was appointing an international law firm or an international audit and professional services which would report back to its executive committee.
CAF’s own head of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) submitted a report claiming that Mosengo-Omba – who was appointed in March 2021 – “impeded” members of the GRC department from performing their duties.
The report called for the suspension of Mosengo-Omba.
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