Opposition leader demands FIFA bribery probe

PORT OF SPAIN (AFP) - Trinidad and Tobago opposition leader Keith Rowley gave police commissioner Dwayne Gibbs until Tuesday to launch a probe into suspended FIFA executives Mohammed Bin Hammam and compatriot Jack Warner.

The investigation would center upon whether or not the two suspended FIFA executive committee members illegally brought US$1 million into the nation.

Warner, who like Rowley is a member of the Trinidad parliament, also serves as Minister of Works and Transport.

Qatari Bin Hammam and Warner are among four people suspended by FIFA for alleged roles in the attempted bribery of 25 Caribbean Football Union associations in the build-up to the FIFA presidential elections.

Bin Hammam challenged FIFA President Sepp Blatter for the top football post but bowed out after being charged. Blatter was re-elected unopposed on June 1.

Gibbs, who is Canadian, said on Tuesday that there was "nothing tangible to investigate" regarding the allegations of bribery at a meeting in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain.

But Rowley described the stance of Gibbs as "irresponsible" and "tantamount to a dereliction of duty".

"We believe that he is guided by some misguided approach that he is toeing the line of the political directorate," Rowley said.

The penalty for the filing of a false declaration under the Customs Act is a fine of three times the value of the item not so declared or a term of imprisonment of eight years.

Rowley did not reveal his next move if his deadline elapsed.