Abu Nayeem Shohag, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), has been sanctioned by FIFA's adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee, stated a FIFA media release on Friday.

Shohag has been issued with a two-year ban from taking part in all football-related activities and ordered to pay a fine of approximately BDT 12 lakh (CHF 10,000) for having used false and/or falsified documents to justify payments made by the BFF with FIFA funds.

As per the investigations conducted by FIFA, Shohag had breached articles 13 (General duties), 15 (Duty of loyalty) and 24 (Forgery and falsification) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, 2020 edition.

Following the press release, FIFA published a 51-page Decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee at its website about the charges against BFF General Secretary Shohag. The summary of the report is given below: 

OVERVIEW OF THE CASE

The present case related to allegations submitted by the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee (IC or the Investigatory Chamber) against Mr Abu Nayeem Shohag (Mr Shohag or the Accused or the Respondent), General Secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), in relation to possible conducts in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics. Specifically, it is alleged that the latter, in his position as General Secretary of the said association, misused FIFA Forward funds and negligently allowed the use of forged or falsified documents to support the transactions of the BFF paid with FIFA funds.

PROBLEMATIC TRANSACTIONS

The Investigatory Chamber analysed several transactions carried out by BFF with FIFA Forward funds and noted that some of them were problematic since they allegedly involved the use of falsified documentation to support transactions paid with FIFA funds. In particular, the Investigatory Chamber isolated four transactions.

TRANSACTION 1: SPORT WEARABLE GOODS

** In June 2020, the BFF National Teams Committee decided to purchase sport equipment for the residential camp in Dhaka and matches of the Bangladesh National Football Team.

**In this respect, three quotations were received from Sports Link, Sports Corner and Robin Enterprise. Sports Link won the bid and the comparative statements were approved by five individuals, including Mr Shohag, who, in his capacity as General Secretary, then ordered the supply of goods in the amount of USD 30,0271. On 28 July 2020, Sports Link provided BFF with a letter confirming that they had delivered the goods.

**On 5 August 2020, four individuals, including Mr Shohag, approved and ordered the final payment to Sports Link.

ISSUES REGARDING THE QUOTATIONS

** In this respect, the Final Report noted that the various reports on file identified a number of problems with the quotations received by BFF in relation to Transaction 1.

** In particular, Control Risks concluded in its report dated 23 September 2020 that:

• All three bidders appeared to be linked to each other and noted that all three documents submitted by the bidders had the same typo "Qutations" and did not include the bidders' stamp.

• Two quotations had the same suspicious opening statement "we are pleased to inform you that we have supplied you the following items as per your order", whereas no items had even been ordered.

**Moreover, BDO noted in its report dated 5 Match 2021 that:

• All three quotations had the same layout/structure with the same format and located signature space.

• All quotations misspelled "Outations".

• Robin Enterprise' s quotation included a mobile phone number without any connection to the company.

• Sports Corner and Sports Link have their business premises located next to each other.

• The owner of Sports Link, Mr Robin, appeared to be a former employer of Sports Corner.

**Finally, the Expert concluded in his report dated 19 September 2022 that:

• The signatures of the "proprietor" on the documents submitted by Sports Link, i.e., the "quotation" dated 18 July 2020 and the "confirmation of delivery" dated 28 July 2020, "do not follow the same course (...)" and;

• The three quotations "are made by the same employer or template, indicating that they have not been made by different companies."

TRANSACTION 2: PURCHASE OF FOOTBALLS 

** In January 2020, BFF purchased 400 footballs for USD 13,9212.

**In relation to this transaction, three quotations were received from Maria International, M/S H.U Zaman Trading and Ophelia's Closet on 18 and 19 December 2019 respectively. Ophelia's Closet won the bid and the comparative statement was approved by five individuals, including Mr Shohag.

**On 12 February 2020, four individuals, including Mr Shohag, approved and ordered the final payment to Ophelia's Closet.

**In the course of the investigation, Mr Shohag provided a document titled "Extract of Bangladesh Premier League Committee on 02/12/2020" signed by him stating "that it is necessary to purchase FIFA-approved match balls by BFF to conduct games of Bangladesh Premier league 2019/2020". 

Moreover, BFF further explained that this supplier was selected because it is a general one supplying goods like fashion/dress/items and sports goods and could provide the large quantity of footballs with a flexible credit line.

ISSUES REGARDING THE QUOTATIONS

** In this respect, the Final Report noted that the various reports on file identified a number of problems with the quotations received by BFF in relation to Transaction 2.

**In particular, Control Risks concluded in its report dated 23 September 2020 that:

• Ophelia's Closet did not exist on the address provided on the quotation and is involved in tailoring of women's wear. Therefore, it was unlikely that this company could provide the footballs to BFF.

• Maria International and M/S H.U Zaman Trading's quotations did not provide sufficient identifiers and had no seal of the company. As a result, Control Risks was unable to comment on the existence of these two firms.

**Moreover, BDO noted in its report dated 5 March 2021 that:

• In the procurement process, BFF should take into account the experience of the supplier.

• Ophelia's Closet being a fashion supplier, BDO concluded that this supplier appeared to have no experience in supplying footballs. In addition, this supplier did not have an import licence and used the one of "a friend", as explained by the supplier.

• No invoice was received from Ophelia's Closet, but BFF made the payment to the supplier.

**Finally, the Expert concluded in his report dated 19 September 2022 that:

• The quotations were all made up of table and had some overlapping elements; and

• The quotation belonging to Maria International and M/S H.U. Zaman Trading had signatures made on a photocopy and not on the original document.

TRANSACTION 3: FLIGHT TICKETS 

**In November 2019, BFF paid USD 19,9254 to Al Marwah International for the flight tickets in connection with the BFF National Team – World Cup 2022, Oman tour. In this respect, three quotations addressed to Mr Shohag were received from Al Marwah International, Purabi International and Multiplex Travels & Tours.

**On 30 October 2019, four individuals, including Mr Shohag, approved and ordered the payment to Al Marwah International. In particular, two cheques were issued from the designated FIFA Forward bank account.

**Moreover, in the scope of the investigation, Mr Shohag stated that "the National Teams committee raises requisition for air tickets for the National Football Team's travel to abroad."

ISSUES REGARDING THE QUOTATIONS

**In this respect, the Final Report noted that the various reports on file identified a number of problems with the quotations received by BFF in relation to Transaction 3.

**In particular, Control Risks concluded in its report dated 23 September 2020 that:

• All three quotations contained several similarities, in particular the same opening statement "we are pleased to submit the following rout air tickets quotations" and contained the same typo ("rout").

• Multiplex Travels & Tours is listed in two business Bangladeshi directories as a travel agency but there appeared to be a typo in the name of the supplier on the quotation, the latter being mentioned in it as "(...) & Tourse" (emphasis added).

• Purabi International is a manpower recruitment agency, so it appeared unlikely that said entity would have been requested to provide a quotation for air tickets.

• The body text of the quotations is identical, the quotations have the same numbering error ("1, 3, 4") and were issued on the same date and follow the same layout. Therefore, due to these unusual similarities, it is unlikely that Multiplex Travels & Tours and Purabi International have actually sent the quotations.

** Moreover, BDO noted in its report dated 5 Match 2021 that:

• Both Purabi International and Multiplex Travels & Tours confirmed that they have not provided any quotations to BFF nor performed services for the said association.

• Purabi International confirmed that it is a recruitment company.

• All three quotations had the same table structures, date and referencing format.

** Finally, the Expert concluded in his report dated 19 September 2022 that:

• The tables on the quotations were made up of the same size and fully coincident in their base content. Moreover, the sentence with the same typo was present on all three quotations.

• "[T]he doubtful documents (...) are made by the same pattern or template, being made by the same company and not different."

TRANSACTION 4: LAWN MOWERS 

** On 10 February 2020, BFF purchased lawn mowers for USD 1,412.606. In this respect, two quotations were received from Bangladesh Hardware and Shova Enterprise on 15 December 2019 and Bangladesh Hardware won the tender.

**On 15 December 2019, the order for the purchasing of goods was issued by Mr Shohag.

**On 17 December 2019, Sharmin Enterprise submitted a third quotation.

**On 10 February 2020, BFF issued a check from the FIFA designated bank account to Bangladesh Hardware and a few days later, on 16 February 2020, Bangladesh Hardware acknowledged receipt of the payment.

ISSUES REGARDING THE QUOTATIONS

**In this respect, the Final Report noted that the various reports on file identified a number of problems with the quotations received by BFF in relation to Transaction 4.

** In particular, Control Risks concluded in its report dated 23 September 2020 that:

• BFF provided Control Risks' auditors with three undated quotations.

• The one of Bangladesh Hardware had a typo in its name "Bangladesh Hardwar", with a slightly different address.

**The Investigatory Chamber pointed out that the quotations provided during the investigations were all dated.

• The quotations of Shova Enterprise and Sharmin Enterprise had several similarities and the same imagery.

**Moreover, BDO noted in its report dated 5 Match 2021 that:

• When it contacted Sharmin Enterprise, the person on the phone responded as Shova Enterprise.

• Bangladesh Hardware could not be reached.

** Finally, the Expert concluded in his report dated 19 September 2022 that:

• The quotations contained a table filled by hand and all quotations had the same background.

• Shova Enterprise and Sharmin Enterprise have a very similar structure in typography, size and style, so that these documents "are made by the same template, the same origin, and not from different companies."

• There were discrepancies in the signatures on the documents submitted by Bangladesh Hardware, i.e., the quotation and the acknowledge receipt letters.

**The Investigatory Chamber pointed out that other transactions carried out by BFF were of concern and that, although the information may be incomplete, it nevertheless suggested that the pattern described above was systematic.

SPORTS WEARABLES (2)

**In particular, the Investigatory Chamber noted that Control Risks, in its report dated 23 September 2020, indicated that the transaction related to sports wearable might be of concern for the following reasons:

• In March 2020, BFF purchased sports wearables and shared with Control Risks two quotations from Spark and Creative Minds, both dated 10 March 2020.

• Control Risks visited the addresses mentioned on the quotations but did not find any reference to Spark on site.

• Moreover, Control Risks noted that both quotations were highly similar, and its research indicated that the firm Creative Minds may not exist.

REGARDING WATER PIPELINES

**In the same line, the Final Report referred to BDO's findings regarding a water pipeline transaction, which pointed out the following elements:

• In 2019, BFF received three quotations from Md. Shafiq, M/s Hossain Enterprise and Manik Enterprise to install and repair water pipelines at the BFF's premises.

• All three hand-written quotations were visually very similar, and the amount paid by the BFF did not match any of the quotations.

**Moreover, the Final Report also referred to the findings of the Expert, who, in his report dated 19 September 2022, reported that all three quotations had the "same gestures-type in the graphic elements (...)" and concluded that "the doubtful handwritten documents ... have been made by the same author".

** Finally, the Final Report indicated that in the scope of the investigation, BFF explained that Mr Shafiq provided the lowest bid for the amount of BDT 257,000, and that the difference between the quotation and the final price was because the old line had to be repaired at the cost of BDT 50,000, so that Mr Shafiq eventually was paid BDT 300,000.00 (USD 3,535.65) instead of BDT 257,000.00 (USD 3,028.90).

FALSIFIED DOCUMENTS

**The Investigatory Chamber noted that Control Risks and BDO, during their respective reviews, raised strong alarms that the quotations produced to comply with the procurement process were falsified.

**It also referred to the conclusions of the Expert, who signalled, inter alia, that the analysed quotations had been produced by a single person/company.

**As a result, the Investigatory Chamber was comfortably satisfied that the referred quotations were false and had been fabricated with the sole aim to comply with the procurement requirements. Moreover, the use of falsified documents appears to be a recurrent and repeated problem that detriments BFF's finances.

** Having clarified the above, the Investigatory Chamber then focused on Mr Shohag and his possible responsibility in the above issues. In this respect, the Final Report stressed that Mr Shohag, as director of the BFF General Secretariat, had the responsibility of carrying out all administration work of the federation. Moreover, according to Article 59 of the BFF Statutes, the General Secretary is responsible for managing and keeping the accounts of BFF properly and is the liaison person with FIFA.

**As a result, the Investigatory Chamber concluded that Mr Shohag was a high-ranking official who bears higher responsibilities in comparison with any other officials within BFF and had a duty of care towards BFF as to safeguard and guarantee that all transactions were carried out in the best interest of the association.

PARTICULAR INVOLVEMENT OF SHOHAG

**In the Investigation Chamber's view, the key question was whether Mr Shohag's participation in the problematic transaction was enough to attribute the wrongful conduct to him, i.e., the use of falsified document(s).

**In this respect, the Investigatory Chamber pointed out that Mr Shohag was deeply involved in the said transactions as he approved and selected the winning supplier based on the quotations presented. He also issued the orders to purchase the goods and services and finally approved the payments from the FIFA designated bank account.

**In other words, the Investigatory Chamber deemed that Mr Shohag was part of BFF's personnel who selected the winning supplier and therefore should have reviewed and examined the conditions and costs stated in the quotations.

**Therefore, it is expected that Mr Shohag must have had access to the quotations and could have easily realised that the same were falsified documents offered with the intention to comply with the procurement process.

THE NEGLIGENCE OF SHOHAG

**In continuation, the Investigatory Chamber stressed that Mr Shohag heads the BFF General Secretariat and is responsible for carrying out all administrative work of BFF. Consequently, Mr Shohag is an agent of BFF (the principal) and is required to perform in the best interest of BFF and avoid causing any damage to the association.

**Considering the positions within football that Mr Shohag has held (acting General Secretary, General Secretary, member of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber), he was expected to have the necessary skills to carry out the tasks assigned to him, including his knowledge of the regulations applicable to him and to BFF.

**In this context, the Investigatory Chamber recalled that Mr Shohag was involved in the procurement process of the problematic transactions, and it was his duty to ensure that the FIFA regulations were observed and ii) to avoid the use of falsified documents to justify expenditure of FIFA funds.

**In particular, the Investigatory Chamber considered it obvious that any person without financial or legal knowledge, who would have examined the quotations provided, would have doubted their authenticity at first sight. The similarities were undoubtedly obvious and any reasonable person in Mr Shohag's position would have noticed the similarities and refrained from using them.

VIOLATION OF ART. 24 FCE

In view of the above, the Investigatory Chamber considered that Mr Shohag failed to apply the utmost duty of care towards BFF and FIFA, and through this negligence, he failed to avoid the use of falsified documents, or put differently, he allowed the use of falsified documents to justify the use of FIFA Forward funds, in breach of art. 24 FCE.

MISUSE OF FIFA FORWARD FUNDS

**The Investigatory Chamber also analysed the Central reviews executed for the years 2016 to 2019 as well as the forensic audit conducted by BDO for the years 2017 to 2020.

The Investigatory Chamber noted that BFF had continuously failed to observe the requirements included in the FIFA Forward Regulations.

FIFA FORWARD FUNDS' PROBLEMS

1) The Central reviews for the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019:

**As starting point, the Investigatory Chamber observed that the FIFA Forward Programme requires that all member associations make their payments related to this Programme directly from the designated bank account. However, the different central reviews conducted revealed that BFF used its operational bank account – instead of its dedicated bank account exclusively – to pay for FIFA Forward fund-related expenses.

**For example, in the 2016 Central review, it was noted that out of USD 708,820 received as FIFA Forward funds, only USD 90,014 were paid directly from the dedicated bank account, meaning that only 12,69% of the transactions were made correctly.

**Moreover, several samples were tested and revealed the following:

• Travel related expenses for Women's Football and salaries totalling USD 107,634 had no supporting documentation.

• The salaries of the National Coach and Technical Director totalling USD 44,100.41 were paid in cash. However, BFF's bank records showed that these salaries were paid via bank transfer, so that these salaries were potentially paid twice.

• Administrative expenses of USD 35,573 incurred in 2014 and 2015 were reported to 2016, which could again lead to expenses being paid twice.

• Subsidies were given to Bangladeshi football clubs totalling USD 124,535, an amount that is not foreseen in the Forward regulations and was not agreed upon with FIFA. Moreover, no supporting documentation was available to substantiate these disbursements, out of which USD 53,588 was paid in cash.

**In view of the above, the FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee restricted the funding of BFF and an action plan was agreed with BFF in 2017. According to this action plan, BFF had to reduce cash payment to the minimum and only for the purposes agreed in writing with FIFA.

**Unfortunately, the Investigatory Chamber noted that the 2017 and 2018 Central reviews revealed the same issues, which led the FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee to impose further restriction on the release of development funds to BFF.

**In view of the Central review for the year 2019 that revealed that most issues observed in the previous years had been partially solved, the restrictions imposed were (partially) lifted following an assessment of the FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee. However, the Investigatory Chamber noted that cash payments made in relation to FIFA funds occurred once again.

BDO AUDIT COVERING THE YEARS 2017-2020

The Investigatory Chamber then explained that in view of the financial irregularities mentioned in the Central review for the year 2019, a forensic audit was conducted by BDO, an audit that revealed the same issues identified in the various Central reviews, as described below.

CASH WITHDRAWALS

**In particular, BDO noted that the purpose of the FIFA Forward bank account is to receive the FIFA funding and pay for FIFA related expenses.

**In this regard, BDO reported that significant cash withdrawals from this account – without relation to the Forward Programme – have been identified and that no documentation or explanation for the purposes of these cash withdrawals was received from BFF. Moreover, there was a large discrepancy between the total value of cash withdrawals and the total value of cash expenditure as reported by BFF, i.e., about USD 561,865. 

**As a result, BDO stated that (i) the significant use of cash withdrawals made it difficult to trace transactions retrospectively and obtain proof of payment and that (ii) it posed an increased risk that funds were misappropriated, used fraudulently or for activities not in line with the programme because the audit trail and controls relating to cash were inherently weaker than for other forms of payment.

**With respect to these cash withdrawals, the Final Report included explanations submitted by Mr Shohag, who stated that "Sometimes we did not receive funds timely from our Sponsors but we had to organize different football tournaments/events timely. In that case, we were compelled to take money from the FIFA Fund as a temporary loan as per the decision of BFF. 

Moreover, most of the time we could not collect the specific amount from the Sponsors as promised by them. Then we arranged the required funds from bank & from our Executive committee members as loan and subsequently we deposited these amounts into BFF's other bank accounts. 

Afterwards we spent money from these accounts according to the FIFA approved budget. So, we have taken money from the FIFA designated account as loan only." 

USE OF A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT

**BDO identified that 181 transactions, amounting to USD 540,387, were paid from other bank accounts of BFF – instead of the dedicated FIFA Forward bank account – but were reported to FIFA as Forward-related expenditures.

**BDO also noted that these payments may have been intended to offset some of the funds used from the FIFA account to pay for non-FIFA expenses.

BLANK INVOICES

**BDO further found two invoices of two suppliers where the date, details, quantity, unit price, amount and total amount were not filled in.

**However, these invoices were signed on supplier printed paper and correspond to payments on the cash book and general ledger recorded by BFF.

** According to BDO, there was no valid reason why BFF would have copies of blank invoices from suppliers on file and indicated that the amounts could have been inflated or falsified.

FIFA FORWARD FUNDS' PROBLEMS

**The Investigatory Chamber noted that despite several FIFA warnings, BFF did not stop committing the same irregularities, namely:

• withdrawing cash from the FIFA designated account,

• using other accounts to pay for FIFA related projects/programs, and,

• using FIFA funds for non-related FIFA project/program expenditure.

** In particular, the Investigatory Chamber pointed out that the financial discrepancies amounted to USD 597,084, which corresponded to 17.73% of the tested transactions, a percentage that certainly cannot be considered insignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

**Mr Shohag, in his position of General Secretary of BFF, had the responsibility to implement regulations and internal processes to ensure that all transactions were properly recorded and carried out.

However, the Investigatory Chamber noted that the questioned transactions and identified issues were all related to the use of FIFA funds and BFF used FIFA funds against what was permitted in the regulations by:

• executing payments to cover expenses that were not approved by FIFA through its FIFA programs and projects, and;

• using money from accounts different from the FIFA designated account to pay for FIFA-related expenditure.

**As a result, the Investigatory Chamber found that Mr Shohag was involved in misuse of FIFA funds by repeatedly and systematically exceeding the FIFA Regulations, in breach of art 28 FCE.