Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner told Trinidad’s Parliament yesterday that he has adequately accounted for the nearly US$1 million entrusted to him as a post-earthquake donation for Haiti.
Warner spoke yesterday after an Opposition member accused Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of not holding Warner accountable for his actions as a government official.
Warner is the Minister of Works and Infrastructure. Last month, Haitian officials told British newspaper The Sunday Times that they received only $60,000 of the $750,000 pledged by FIFA and South Korean football leader Chung Mong-joon for football-related rebuilding projects.
Warner has repeatedly denied the claim.“I received two sets of money, one for $500,000 and the other for $250,000, and I sent bills to them for $970,000,” Warner said.
He did not provide details or explain the origin of the additional $220,000 that he mentioned. He spoke as legislators debated a no-confidence motion filed against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
FIFA has said it is studying detailed documentation Warner submitted about the $250,000 donation that he applied for and received.
Warner resigned from his football duties last year to avoid a bribery probe after heading the sport’s North and Central American and Caribbean governing body for almost 30 years.