Costs foil judicial inquiry

Fani said the BFA sought assistance from its external auditors who suggested a judicial inquiry. However, the process would have set back the BFA by between P750,000 and P1.2 million excluding tax.

"The auditors were willing to assist but their advice was that because of the nature of the allegations, we should proceed by way of judicial inquiry under which the investigators would have statutory powers to obtain access to bank accounts, relevant documentation and subpoena individuals to testify and respond to questions," Fani explained. He said they made efforts to get financial assistance to meet the cost, but they were unsuccessful. A top level BFA meeting last Friday agreed that the matter should be handled with the information available. "Obviously because of the criminal nature of some of the allegations, the matter would be handed to appropriate authorities," Fani said. BFA chief executive officer, Tosh Kgotlele is on suspension because of the match-fixing allegations.