The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad, has been arrested in Paris.
He was reportedly arrested on Thursday morning at the Berri Hotel in Paris on some allegations of corruption and fiscal offences.
The details of the arrest remain sketchy, however, Jeune Afrique is reporting that the arrest could be linked to the unilateral abrogation of CAF’s contract with German equipment manufacturer Puma in favour of Technical Steel.
FIFA has confirmed the arrest and says that it does not have the details of the arrest. The world football body has therefore said that it is speaking to French authorities about the arrest.
“FIFA is asking the French authorities for any information that might relevant to investigations taking place within its Ethics Committee,” FIFA said in a statement.
Ahmad reportedly signed off on a deal to the benefit of Technical Steel. In this deal, one of Technical Steel’s bosses reportedly paid a total of €739 000 (R12,3 million) to the CAF president in order to get the deal sanctioned.
The case will be heard by the central office for the fight against corruption and financial and fiscal offences (OCLIF) in France.
Ahmad Ahmad’s administration as CAF president has been beset with lots of scandals, including some corruption accusations.