Fifa, world football's governing body, has confirmed a preliminary internal inquiry into a member of its own Ethics Committee, Juan Pedro Damiani.
According to BBC News, Uruguayan lawyer Juan Pedro Damiani is the subject of a Fifa investigation looking into his alleged links with Eugenio Figueredo. The former head of Conmebo, Figueredo, is being held on corruption charges. He was arrested last May in Zurich as part of the inquiry into football corruption led by the United States. The U.S. authorities charged Figueredo with money laundering and wire fraud.
Gianni Infantino took over as president of Fifa just six weeks ago and pledged to clean up the organization. With this new incident, the world football's governing body is facing fresh embarrassment.
Since July 2012, Damiani has been involved in sensitive ethics cases of leading football officials. The leaked documents called the Panama Papers suggest that Damiani provided legal assistance for at least seven offshore companies linked to Figueredo.
According to the online publication Goal, Fifa had recently become aware of a possible business relationship between Damiani and Figueredo and had "opened a preliminary investigation to review the allegations in question." However, Fifa's statement does not imply any suggestion of illegal activity on Damiani's side.
Fifa has confirmed that the investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee was informed on March 19 by Hans-Joachim Eckert, the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber, about the business relationship between former head of Conmebo, Eugenio Figueredo Aguerre, and the member of the adjudicatory chamber Juan Pedro Damiani.
The chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, Dr. Cornel Borbely, has immediately opened a preliminary investigation after receiving the information. The internal inquiry will review the allegations in question.
The said allegations are studied by Dr. Borbely to determine if there is a breach against the Fifa Code of Ethics. After a throughout review, the chairmen will decide on further measures.
