GFA In $1m Bribery Scandal?

What started as a mere allegation received via the Enquirer’s email has turned out to be a huge scandal waiting to explode within the corridors of Ghana Football. The email from an unknown Sunday Emmanuel form Lagos alleged that Ghana’s FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi and his colleagues are claiming that they spent some $1 million of Ghana’s money to influence various officials including FIFA.

Sunday also cautioned Mr. Nyantakyi that his style of lobbying and canvassing for votes at the upcoming CAF Executive Council meeting is retrogressive because there are claims that his campaign team is using money to influence some heads of various FAs that are in Ghana for the FIFA Goal 3 Project.

Following up on the allegation, the Enquirer newspaper has stumbled on what appears to be one of the reasons why the Ghana FA leadership has been opposed strongly to the investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Using many ‘friends’ in the media, the Ghana FA led by Kwesi Nyantakyi accused the government of interfering in their work, with FIFA issuing what many said were veiled threats to ban the country.

A source close to the newly appointed lawyer for the Ghana FA, Whalid Iddrisu, told the Enquirer late last night that the $1 million bribery matter has already come up in the EOCO investigations and his clients have confirmed. The FA according to the source told EOCO that they spent as much as $1 million they are unable to account for to bribe various officials include FIFA officials.

Our checks with the EOCO has also revealed that at least two senior officials of the Ghana FA including the President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, in their written statements to the Office admitted spending the money to bribe various officials.

The Enquirer was unable to reach the FA officials, but the source close to the GFA lawyer explained that the FA team has been desirous to have the matter settled quickly in order to avoid embarrassment and prevent the disgrace that will come to the officials and the country.

The Enquirer can also confirm that Mr. Nyantakyi and Randy Abbey, while engaging in a media attack on the government in the wake of the EOCO swoop, went sneaking and begging some key persons within the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to have the investigations dropped.

Unfortunately, the intermediaries were unable to approach either the President or Vice President who they are aware will not condone any interference in the work of an investigative body. EOCO’s investigations, government officials have restated, has nothing to do with any allegation of interference but the constitutional mandate of the EOCO.

So, who did the Ghana FA bribe within the FIFA and for what? Or as Sunday Emmanuel puts it in his email, “You may want to investigate that because the FA must be able to explain what they mean by protocol. Do they mean bribing match, CAF and FIFA officials and what for? Or they are just finding excuses for Ghana’s monies they cannot account for?”

Below is the unedited email from Sunday Emmanuel.

I have been following the lobbying and canvassing by your country’s FA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, to get elected unto the Executive Council of the Confederation of African Football. Especially over the last few days that he has some heads of various national FA’s in Ghana, all kinds of things are said to be going on.

Please advise him that not every FA head in Ghana now supports him and some are even contestants for the same position. His campaign team members should therefore be careful in their dealings. Already there are talks of money moving around in the quest to influence people, and that can be bad news for Nyantakyi.

My contacts among the CAF/FIFA people in Accra also say they have picked up information suggesting that the GFA officials are claiming that they spent some one million dollars ($1,000.000) to take care of some “protocol” activities for CAF and FIFA officials during a certain period including the world cup.

You may want to investigate that because the FA must be able to explain what they mean by protocol. Do they mean bribing match, CAF and FIFA officials and what for? Or they are just finding excuses for Ghana’s monies they cannot account for?

Sunday Emmanuel Lagos.