US investigating two Kuwaitis in FIFA case

GENEVA: Two senior Olympic officials from Kuwait, one reputed to be the kingmaker of IOC elections and another who is president of swimming’s international governing body, have been targeted by the US Department of Justice for suspected racketeering and bribery related to FIFA and international football politics, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The US embassy in Kuwait made a formal request to local authorities in 2017 for assistance to secure evidence including records of multiple bank accounts held in the Gulf state, according to one document.

The request included a document dated June 7, 2017, titled: ‘Request for assistance in the investigation of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Husain al-Musallam, Reza Charim, Vahid Kardany and others.’

The documents confirm that Sheikh Ahmad is under investigation and provide insight into the US government’s probe of high-level foreign officials as part of the broad FIFA investigation that began more than a decade ago.

The sheikh is an influential powerbroker in Olympic circles who was a key ally behind Thomas Bach’s successful run to the IOC presidency in 2013. The long-time IOC member is president of the group of national Olympic bodies known as ANOC and a former member of the FIFA executive committee.

Al-Musallam, a close ally of the sheikh, took over as president of swimming governing body FINA in June and for the last 16 years has been the Olympic Council of Asia’s director general. Sheikh Ahmad has been president of the OCA since 1991. The two other men identified in the documents, Kardany and Charim, who are both Iranian, were assistants to al-Musallam at the Kuwait-based OCA.