The President of the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT), Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas, has been handed a life prison sentence following a conviction for money laundering, forgery, and the embezzlement of funds intended for women’s football.
The verdict was delivered Tuesday in a session Mayolas did not attend. The court found that the official, who has led the federation since 2018, diverted $1.3 million in FIFA funds through various shell companies. Specifically, Mayolas was convicted of misappropriating nearly $500,000 meant for the Congolese women’s national team as part of a COVID-19 relief initiative.
The legal proceedings followed an eight-month investigation into banking records and internal accounting procedures. The case gained momentum in March 2023 after presidents of clubs in the Congolese Women’s Championship filed a formal declaration with the Central Intelligence and Documentation Office (CID).
In that declaration, the clubs alleged that “only $20,000 of the $500,000 Fifa sent to FECOFOOT in 2021 as part of its Covid-19 relief plan was paid out.”
The sentencing extended to the president’s family and colleagues. Mayolas’s wife and son were also sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the scheme. Meanwhile, FECOFOOT General Secretary Badji Mombo Wantete and Treasurer Raoul Kanda each received five-year prison sentences for their involvement in the financial irregularities.