Bassam misappropriated most of FAM’s USD 12M on property and personal business: PG

Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has revealed that Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President Bassam Adeel Jaleel misappropriated a large portion of the USD 12 million awarded to the association by FIFA over the past five years.

Last month’s issue of ‘Unsuru’, PGO’s newsletter, detailed that a significant amount of funds were transferred to Bassam's personal account under "sale of dollars".

However, investigations showed that the equivalent amount in Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) was never deposited into FAM’s official accounts. “Financial records show that Bassam used these funds for personal expenses,” the article read.

Additional details published in the article disclosed that the money was spent on acquiring property, business, and family expenses as well as trips abroad.

While Bassam currently owns two penthouses and an apartment in Amin Avenue, a source revealed that the penthouses have been merged and remodeled to luxury standards worth more than MVR 15 million.

Addressing the practices of dollar exchange adopted by FAM in the matter, PGO said that the association did not adhere to any regulations nor record keeping protocols when engaging in these dollar exchange transactions.

While there are multiple allegations of corruption involving FAM, only one case has been sent for prosecution after concluding investigations. This case also involves Bassam’s indiscretions with regards to FAM funds where investigations found that USD 10,000 of the association’s money was wired to Bassam’s personal account, which was then used for his personal expenses.

Based on these findings, Bassam faces charges on money laundering and fraud at the Criminal Court of Maldives.

The probe into FAM’s financial misconduct was initiated by police following a request by PG Hussain Shameem, which also resulted in a raid of the FAM office last October.

While investigations continue into additional cases, last month, PG Shameem met with the police investigators team of working on these cases, emphasizing the need to expedite the process.

PGO highlighted matters discussed in the meeting, specifically highlighting pending cases and a timeline of completion for these cases. Discussions also addressed strategies on obtaining assistance from relevant authorities, PGO said.