Police officers on Sunday morning entered the office of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) with a court order to investigate alleged corruption.
The FAM probe was ordered by the Prosecutor General's (PG) office, Adhadhu has learned. The case currently under investigation involves the alleged misuse of foreign funds.
According to a statement published on the PG office website, an investigation order was made to the police over the "alleged embezzlement by senior officials of funds given to the association by various parties as well as other suspected criminal acts."
If money laundering, theft, embezzlement, fraud or any other criminal offenses were found to be taking place, the PG ordered the police to investigate and forward cases for pressing charges against the perpetrators.
The police searched FAM on the PG's orders "to find evidence related to financial transactions," a police media official told Adhadhu.
FAM President Bassam Adeel Jaleel was inside the office as police searched the premises. Other FAM employees were also inside the office.
FAM is a heavily indebted institution that has been operating without paying salaries for staff and national team players.
Several cases also came to light of FAM failing to pay for goods and services sought on credit. In addition, FAM did not hand over MVR 500,000 donated by prominent businessman Champa Mohamed Moosa, MVR 500,000 donated by the State Trading Organization (STO) and MVR 100,000 donated by Dhiraagu to the national team players.
