LONDON, May 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Prior to announcing his candidacy in January, Prince Ali engaged Quest, under the leadershipof Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington,to ensure the highest levels of integrity and ethical standards throughout his campaign for the presidency of FIFA. This included ensuring ethical behaviour by everyone associated with Prince Ali's campaign, as well as guarding against any threats to the integrity of the election process, attempts to smear Prince Ali's reputation or campaign dirty tricks, by any source.
In keeping with this guidance from Prince Ali, his campaign team has routinely referred unsolicited inquiries that appeared to involve questionable behaviour to Quest to determine whether offers made presented any threat to Prince Ali, his reputation or the integrity of the election process.
Today's report on Agent France Presse (AFP) of what appears to be an attempt to "blackmail" Prince Ali is one of several unsolicited offers from individuals claiming to have information that could be helpful to his campaign that was turned over to Quest.
The first approach which was the subject of today's report was received in January.
In April, Prince Ali's campaign team was contacted by another individualwho claimed the ability to deliver47 votes,in addition to what appeared to be illegally obtained information relating to the financial activities of Mr. Sepp Blatter. The campaign referred the matter to Quest, instructed them to reject the offer and to engage with relevant law enforcement agencies.The individual's claims to have obtained information illegally are now under police investigation.
Prince Ali's campaign has not received any offers involving questionable behaviour orpotential illegalities from FIFA Member Associations or individuals claiming to act on their behalf.
A senior member of HRH Prince Ali's campaign team said: "These unethical and seemingly illegal offers are indicative of the current aura of corruption that continues to tarnish FIFA's reputation. All such approaches have been referred to the police. Prince Ali will continue to work with the correct authorities in his determination to root out intimidation at FIFA."
W: http://www.theproffice.com