Jordaan and the lawyers what's going on?
What is going on with Danny Jordaan? Is he really being pursued by the FBI in connection with World Cup bribery allegations? Why has he hired a high-powered legal team? These questions, notes Legalbrief, require answers following claims this week that the president of the SA Football Association and apparently erstwhile Port Elizabeth mayor has engaged lawyers to deal with the FBI probe.
Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula vigorously denied Jordaan was on the run from the FBI, notes a BDlive report. Mbalula, along with Safa (see report below) dismissed a News24 report about the legal team Jordaan allegedly hired as a ‘dirty politics’ campaign masterminded by the DA. The News24 report said Jordaan had hired Sandton attorney Anthony Norton and senior Advocate Gilbert Marcus to defend him in the FBI probe of a 2010 World Cup bribery scandal. The legal team also included New York-based law firm Arnold & Porter. ‘This thing has got nothing to do with the Fifa issues‚’ Mbalula is quoted as saying without explainin g why Jordaan found it necessary to engage such a high-powered legal team, notes Legalbrief. And Jordaan, when blaming the DA for the News24 report, also did not take the opportunity to deny he had hired the legal team. The Minister, though was insistent. ‘The sensationalism and the timing of this thing has got everything to do with badmouthing Danny as a credible candidate of the ANC in the Nelson Mandela metro. They (the DA) are trying to use falsehoods to hurt the ANC and this is quite desperate now,’ he is quoted as saying.
The News24 report states categorically that the legal team was assembled to assist Jordaan with regard to the FBI probe. It says this raises fresh questions about the Americans’ interest in Jordaan's role during SA’s campaign to secure the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the mayor's reluctance to travel abroad since the FIFA scandal broke in May last year. Jordaan has consistently denied being involved in bribery to secure the hosting of the tournament. But he has yet to explain why he has engaged top lawyers to act on his behalf and why he has ceased travelling internationally, notes the News24 report.
Jordaan blamed the DA for the News24 report. He accused the DA of using apartheid-style tactics by bringing up the allegations on the day before elections. He also insisted that the FBI in the US had ‘nothing’ on him, says a report in The Citizen. The probe into Safa follows allegations that the body was complicit in the alleged bribery of Fifa prior to the 2010 World Cup. Former Safa boss Leslie Sedibe vehemently denied the allegations earlier this year after he was accused of failing to co-operate in the investigation.
Safa was vociferous in its response, says a report in The Herald. Its CE Dennis Mumble said no lawyers had been hired to defend Jordaan. ‘(He) does not have to defend himself against the allegations as there is no indictment against him and therefore no lawyers were hired.’ Mumble said the association was astounded by the continued attacks on its reputation and that of Jordaan. ‘(The) association has made available all the evidence on its website proving that the grant made to the North American Football Confederation was not a bribe,’ he said.
Full report in The Herald (subscription needed)
If Jordaan is not facing serious charges why has he employed a heavyweight legal team? The question was posed by DA MP Phumzile van Damme, notes a BDlive report. ‘To date, Jordaan has denied his involvement in this corruption scandal, despite a letter, dated 10 December 2007, proving that he directly authorised and signed off this payment,’ Van Damme said. ‘Jordaan has not been forthcoming in this regard.’ Meanwhile, DA MP Solly Malatsi is demanding an update from the SAPS of its investigation into the matter. ‘This follows the DA’s laying of criminal charges against Jordaan, given the prima facie evidence which existed in the public domain. Despite these charges being laid last year , no action has been forthcoming. SAPS must now act and fully co-operate with international investigations,’ the DA said in its statement yesterday.
The Fifa corruption trial could begin in September or October of next year, according to the federal judge overseeing the matter. At the hearing in front of US District Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn, New York, Assistant US Attorney Evan Norris said the government does expect to bring additional charges in the case although he also said it was ‘too early to say’ if additional defendants would be charged, notes a TimesLIVE report. So far 42 individuals and entities have been charged. ‘Our ongoing investigation does continue. It is quite active and quite broad,’ Norris said.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
