Authorities in Congo-Brazzaville have applied to Interpol for an international arrest warrant against Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas, the president of the country’s football federation, Fecofoot. This follows his conviction for embezzling $1.1 million in funds from FIFA, provided as part of its Covid-19 relief plan in February 2021.
Mayolas is on the run with his wife and son after they were all sentenced to life imprisonment this month for the embezzlement. The trial was held in absentia, as the family is believed to have fled the country weeks before the hearing. Investigators suspect he may be hiding in Cameroon or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The authorities and partner police forces in the region have been alerted, and officials are working with financial intelligence units, including France's Tracfin, to freeze assets linked to the case.
Mayolas and his family members were convicted of money laundering, forgery, use of forged documents, and embezzlement on 10 March by the court in Brazzaville. Fecofoot’s general secretary, Badji Mombo Wantete, and treasurer, Raoul Kanda, were also convicted and each sentenced to five years in prison. FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Mayolas, Wantete, and Kanda last week for alleged financial misconduct, with charges under consideration including conflict of interest, forgery, and improper acceptance of gifts.
It has been alleged that Mayolas, since being elected as president of Fecofoot in 2018, used a series of shell companies to embezzle funding from FIFA. According to a declaration signed by the presidents of every women’s club in the country’s top flight and sent to the Congolese authorities in March, only $20,000 of the $500,000 FIFA sent to Fecofoot in 2021 as part of its Covid-19 relief plan was paid out. Mayolas denied all the allegations before his disappearance, describing them as a conspiracy, while Wantete also rejected the accusations.
Last year, Mayolas was suspended by the country’s sports ministry after being investigated for fraud. FIFA stepped in and banned Congo from international football for “third-party interference,” leading to the forfeiture of World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Zambia in March, with 3-0 victories awarded to the opponents. Congo was reinstated when Fecofoot was permitted to resume control of its headquarters in Brazzaville, although Mayolas and Wantete were prevented from travelling to FIFA’s congress in Paraguay and arrested a few days later.
Source: www.theguardian.com