Tuesday 2 June 2015 19:58, UK
A $10m payment from FIFA to an account controlled by the disgraced former vice-president Jack Warner followed a letter from South Africa to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.
Sky Sports News HQ has received a copy of a letter sent from the President of the South African Football Association, Molefi Oliphant, to Valcke, asking for the payment to be withheld from World Cup funds - and paid instead to Warner to support football in the Caribbean.
The letter, dated March 2008, is addressed to Valcke and appears to ask for $10 million – which was destined for a football development project in the Caribbean – to instead be “administered and implemented” by the then CONCACAF president and FIFA vice-president Warner.
FIFA have denied that Valcke or any of its senior management authorised the transfer of this money to Warner. They say that Julio Grondona, the former chairman of FIFA's Finance Committee - who died last year - authorised the money to be transferred to accounts.
FIFA continue to deny Mr Valcke’s involvement though and insist there is nothing new.
A FIFA spokesperson said via email: "The letter is consistent to our statement where we underlined that the FIFA Finance Committee made the final approval.
"In general, the FIFA Secretary General is the recipient of all letters and requests to the administration and acts in accordance with FIFA's regulations.
"We would like to reiterate that neither the Secretary General Jerome Valcke nor any other member of FIFA's senior management were involved in the initiation, approval and implementation of the Diaspora project."
Warner has been indicted by US authorities for taking an alleged bribe in return for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 World Cup.
The US indictment states that three payments were made in 2008 from a FIFA bank account to a New York account in the name of the Caribbean and North and Central American football federation - CONCACAF.
This account was in fact controlled by Warner, who appeared in court in Trinidad last week on 12 charges. He was bailed and entered no plea and will appear before court again on July 12.
The US indictment has also led to further arrests this week. Nicolas Leoz - the former president of the South American Football Confederation - has been placed under house arrest in Paraguay.
Meanwhile Ricardo Teixeira - the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation - is now being investigated by prosecutors over allegations of money-laundering and fraud.
The original US indictment stated: "In 2008, a high-ranking FIFA official caused payments totalling $10 million to be wired from a FIFA account in Switzerland to a Bank of America correspondent account in New York, for credit to accounts held in the names of CFU and CONCACAF, but controlled by the defendant Jack Warner."
Valcke will miss Saturday's Women's World Cup opener because of the on-going corruption, FIFA announced on Monday.
"Due to the current situation, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke will not be attending the opening of the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 as previously scheduled," FIFA said in a statement.
"It is important that he attends to matters at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich."
