In what could be another revelation of corruption in the world football governing body, Sunday Times has claimed that Mohamed Bin Hammam, an ex-Fifa executive member for Qatar paid $5m (£2.98m) in bribes to secure support for Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid.
According to document obtained by Sunday Times, Bin Hammam made “dozens” of payments to top football bosses. He used 10 slush funds to pay cash to football officials in order to create a “groundswell” of support for Qatar’s campaign, the paper claimed.
He also allegedly hosted lavish junkets for African officials at which he handed out almost $400,000 in cash. It is also alleged he paid $1.6m (£950,000) into bank accounts controlled by Jack Warner, the former vice-president of Fifa, some $450,000 (£268,000) of which was paid before the vote for the World Cup.
The allegations were made after the newspaper obtained millions of emails and other documents related to the payments. The newspaper said Mr Bin Hammam declined to respond when asked about the claims. Members of Qatar’s bid committee have also denied any links with the former Fifa official.
