Veron Mosengo-Omba, Secretary-General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), is currently under investigation in Fribourg, Switzerland, for alleged financial mismanagement.
However, Mosengo-Omba insisted on Thursday that the bank transfers in question were “legal” and constituted “bonuses and compensations” from CAF. His statement was published on the social media platform “X.”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Fribourg has requested the case be taken over by the Swiss Attorney General’s Office.
Nonetheless, a Swiss court declined this request on September 13, noting that the person involved is the Secretary-General of an organization based in Cairo.
According to the investigative site “Gothan City,” which specializes in financial crimes in Switzerland, the person in question is indeed Mosengo-Omba.
The Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office contacted Fribourg prosecutors in February after analyzing transactions that revealed the Secretary-General had received bonuses significantly higher than the maximum stipulated in his employment contract and had made these transactions through various Swiss accounts.
The office’s analysis indicated that these transfers between his Swiss accounts and institutions in Egypt could not be traced, and that transfers between personal accounts and cash withdrawals “obstruct any possibility of tracing the use of those funds.”
The report suggested that these elements collectively raise suspicions of criminal financial mismanagement.
In his statement on “X,” Mosengo-Omba clarified that the bank transfers were “legal and traceable… indicating bonuses and compensations I received from CAF, conducted with absolute transparency.”
He noted that no criminal charges had been filed, and the funds were “in accordance with CAF regulations.”
Despite this, Mosengo-Omba expressed his willingness to clarify the matter swiftly and definitively, informing the Fribourg public prosecutor of his readiness to respond to inquiries and provide any necessary information. He also contacted banks to clarify any potential doubts.
CAF, which comprises 54 national associations, is headed by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
The organization has been striving to improve its reputation following a series of corruption scandals. Its former president, Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad, was suspended by FIFA in 2022 due to financial misconduct.
Mosengo-Omba, who holds both Congolese and Swiss nationality, fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1980 and studied law at the University of Fribourg alongside the current FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.
