Husain Al-Musallam, the Kuwait-native who is the First Vice President of FINA, has been identified as a player in the scandal which has rocked FIFA, the international football federation.
According to a report from The Times, Al-Musallam is “co-conspirator No. 3” that allegedly bribed football official Richard Lai. Lai has pleaded guilty to accepting about $1 million (USD) in bribes, including more than $750,000 in wire transfers from Kuwaiti accounts controlled by “co-conspirator No. 3 or his assistants,” according to the report.
Al-Musallam, according to The Times, “is the right-hand man to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a FIFA council member who resigned from his football positions on Sunday after being identified as co-conspirator No. 2 in the indictment.”
Co-conspirator No. 3 was further identified, according to the report, as “a high-ranking official of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and an official of the Kuwait Football Association (KFA).” According to his profile page on the OCA website, Al-Musallam is its “Director General & Technical Director,” seemingly fitting the bill.
The OCA told The Times in a statement that it “has been surprised by the allegations of illegal payments allegedly made to Richard Lai. The OCA strongly deny any wrongdoing and has asked the OCA ethics committee to carry out a full review.”
Swimming World will update this story if it further develops. Read more from The Times by clicking here.