SAFA have fired back at allegations of fraud and theft levelled against them by the serious commercial crime investigation unit, a division of the Hawks.
In a fiery rebuttal released on Friday evening, just hours after the Hawks raided their Nasrec headquarters, the SA Football Association vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
The association vowed complete transparency regarding a R1.3 million expense flagged by the Hawks, which sparked the search operation.
During the raid, the Hawks, investigating claims that SAFA president Danny Jordaan used the association’s funds for personal gain, seized a laptop, external hard drives, a USB [drive] and documents.
Jordaan, who was the head of the organising committee when SA hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is accused of using the organization’s resources to hire a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations firm, allegedly without approval from the SAFA board.
In addition, the Hawks stated that Jordaan’s actions violated the statutes governing SAFA, which resulted in a financial loss of R1.3 million to the organisation between 2014 and 2018.
However, SAFA have described the Hawks’ operation as “malicious” and stated that they plan to take legal action against the independent directorate within the South African Police Service [SAPS].
SAFA Statement on Hawks Operation at Headquarters
“The search and seizure conducted by the Hawks at the South African Football Association’s (SAFA) headquarters in Nasrec, in the south of Johannesburg, on Friday, 8 March 2024, was unfortunate and a shame to our law enforcement agencies.
“The Hawks are claiming allegations of fraud and theft amounting to R1,3 million. SAFA is well aware of the amount and is satisfied that it was for services rendered for which contracts can be provided.
“We want to set it out from the onset that we believe the search was unlawful, malicious and not conducted in terms of the directives of a warrant given to us.
“We were not furnished with all the documents prescribed by law. The documents that were furnished by the Hawks during the shameful raid were incomplete and unlawful. We contend that it was done deliberately and intentionally in order to action this malicious action.
“As a result of this, we have instructed our attorneys to bring an urgent application to review and set aside this search and seizure. We have further instructed our attorneys to bring a formal complaint to the oversight arbitrator of the Hawks regarding the action of all involved members.
“SAFA will further institute civil action for defamation of character against those involved in the naming of the SAFA president’s name in an ongoing investigation. We contend that this is unethical and unlawful as the police never mentioned anyone’s name in matters that are under investigation.
“We believe, unfortunately, that these members of the police have been compromised and are being used in the callous abuse of state resources. Let us reiterate, there is no money missing from SAFA.”
RELATED STORY: Hawks raid SAFA House over alleged R1.3 million fraud
