T&T Football Association (TTFA) president, Raymond Tim Kee is now corroborating at least part of the claims by former Fifa vice-president, Caribbean Football union president and TTFF adviser Jack Warner that he (Warner) funded the People’s Partnership 2010 general election campaign.
There is currently a war of words between Warner and the People’s Partnership over his claims that he funded the party’s election campaign with money sourced through his Fifa dealings.
While Warner is stickling to those claims and has allegedly provided information to a group of attorneys to prove this, the UNC continues to deny the claim.
But speaking exclusively to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Tim Kee said he knew for a fact that former Warner used his own money to fund at least one UNC event which he (Tim Kee) had knowledge of.
Tim Kee was referring to an invoice he allegedly received from a popular hotel and conference centre in Port-of-Spain which had billed the TTFA for a “UNC Banquet Dinner.”
Although initially admitting to not really wanting to let the “cat-out-of-the-bag,” Tim Kee said, “I don’t want to make it an issue yet. I have to find the document first.”
He added, “I know of this because with the invoice were some notes which indicated the items.”
Tim Kee also assured that he knew for a fact that Warner took money from the TTFF which went straight to the UNC.
“The man took our money and gave it to politics,” he said.
Tim Kee said Warner was committed to the UNC cause in 2010.
“Knowing Mr Warner as I do, he does not give up until he comes to the end of his effort and all strategies, for which he is well known, were applied in that effort to put the UNC party into power,” he said, saying he was sure Warner used the monies he would have acquired from Fifa to spend in the 2010 election.
“I would think it is public knowledge when he became chairman, he had a goal and that goal was to take the UNC party into government,” he said.
Similar football strategy
Tim Kee explained that Warner had a similar behaviour and strategy in football and in the earlier years mortgaged his house in a bid to raise money for football and to take care of some other expenses in relation to the sport.
“That was the sort of passion he (Warner) had demonstrated over the years for local football. What happens subsequent to those years I am not in a position to converse on and comment,” he said.
During an address to the nation on Wednesday night, Warner, a former national security minister and now political leader of the Independent Liberal Party, reiterated that there was a link between Fifa’s millions and the PP’s 2010 campaign.
He disclosed that he had compiled a series of cheques and supporting documents that would corroborate his financial support to the PP’s successful general campaign in 2010. The documents, Warner said, were already in the hands of attorneys.
Warner is currently out on $2.5 million bail after he appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court on charges of corruption and racketeering conspiracy in relation to his dealings with Fifa, stemming out of an indictment by the US government, which is now seeking to extradite him to the US to face those charges.
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Jack of all funds.
By Sharlene Rampersad (Guardian)
I paid for Moonilal’s wife’s education
Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner says his support for the United National Congress (UNC) was not only limited to the party, as he now alleges he paid for deputy leader Dr Roodal Moonilal’s wife to study in London.
Warner, a former Fifa vice-president who was placed on Interpol’s “red notice” on Wednesday, made the claim during an ILP cottage meeting at Battoo Street, Marabella, on Wednesday night.
“Moonilal trying today to make my chairman name look bad and Moonilal trying to demean. Her and Moonilal of course forget that is I who pay to send his wife to school in London,” Warner alleged.
“And I must sit here and listen to Moonilal?”
Warner said while going through some of his documents, he found a receipt showing where he allegedly paid to rent a house in Santa Margarita for three months for the party. He said he also found a receipt where he gave the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) $350,000 on April 6, 2012, but said “Ashworth Jack will watch me and say I did not give him anything.”
He threw out a challenge to the Government to deny his claims, saying he had all the documents to show where his money was spent.
“Let them say I didn’t pay for a house for three months, let them say I didn’t give the TOP money, let them say I didn’t give Moonilal money for his wife’s education in London.
“I took a considerable amount of my resources, my resources Kamla, into supporting the person who is now your Prime Minister.”
Warner also said he has a number of tapes and documents on the link between the UNC’s 2010 campaign and Fifa funding that he will release soon.
“I have documents showing the link between Fifa funding and me, the link between Fifa, its funding the UNC and the PP Government in the general elections of 2010, documents on the Section 34 fiasco, documents on my knowledge of transactions at Fifa, including, and not limited to the President Sepp Blatter.”
He apologised to the country for not disclosing these matter sooner, but promised all would be brought to the light in the near future.
Making reference to members of the international media attending the meeting, Warner said they would only be in T&T until next week.
“Look at them, first time in your lives you may be seeing them in Marabella. Don’t worry, they will be gone by next week, they only here to see Jack Warner in handcuffs.”
Warner refused to field questions from the media after at the meeting and as soon as his speech was finished he was hustled into a waiting vehicle by security.
FIFA paid Ireland $5 million over Henry handball
AFP
London (AFP) - FIFA have confirmed they made a $5 million payment to the Football Association of Ireland after Thierry Henry's handball stopped Ireland qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
"We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup play-off hadn't worked out for us with the Henry handball," Delaney said.
"We came to an agreement. That was a Thursday and on Monday, the agreement was all signed and all done. It was a payment to the association to not proceed with a legal case."
FIFA later issued a statement explaining: "While the referee's decision is final, and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) ultimately accepted it as such, in January 2010 FIFA entered into an agreement with FAI in order to put an end to any claims against FIFA.
"FIFA granted FAI a loan of USD 5 million for the construction of a stadium in Ireland. At the same time, UEFA also granted the FAI funds for the same stadium.
"The terms agreed between FIFA and the FAI were that the loan would be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
"Ireland did not so qualify. Because of this, and in view of the FAI's financial situation, FIFA decided to write off the loan as per 31 December 2014."
France qualified for the 2010 World Cup at Ireland's expense after Henry blatantly handled the ball as he set up William Gallas for the decisive goal in a play-off match in Paris in November 2009.
Delaney's claim comes amid a corruption scandal engulfing FIFA that has seen FIFA executives arrested, president Sepp Blatter announce his resignation and former executive committee member Chuck Blazer admit to paying bribes.
Delaney said that Blatter's behaviour at the Soccerex football conference in Johannesburg 11 days after the match had hardened his resolve over the matter of compensation.
"The way Blatter behaved, if you remember on stage, having a snigger and having a laugh at us..." he said.
"That day when I went in (to discuss the agreement), and I told him how I felt about him, there were some expletives used."
Henry was derided as a cheat in the aftermath of the match at the Stade de France, which ended in a 1-1 draw that saw France win 2-1 on aggregate.
The FAI and the Irish government unsuccessfully petitioned world governing body FIFA for the game to be replayed or for Ireland to be admitted to the World Cup in South Africa as a '33rd team'.
Henry, then with Barcelona, backed Ireland's calls for a replay and declared himself "extremely sorry", but rejected the accusation that he was a cheat.
France went on to endure a disastrous World Cup, crashing out in the group phase after the players went on strike in protest at striker Nicolas Anelka's exclusion from the squad for clashing with coach Raymond Domenech.