Finally Ganesh Thapa bits the dust

The long wait is over,  justice has been  served in the  corruption scandal involving  former President of All Nepal Football Association  Ganesh Thapa.

Finally the  world football governing body  did the right thing ; punish Mr. Thapa for  his purported  headline  grabbing wrongdoings  as  Chief of the football body  for more than two decades.

Mr. Thapa has been suspended  for 10 years from all football related activities and  fined  20,000 Swiss  Franc, putting an end to his dictatorial and despotic rule.

The FIFA ruling, he did not expect,   came as a great shock to  Mr. Thapa ,leaving   him shattered, speechless and  badly jolted. He is lucky to have escaped jail time.

I reckon never in his wildest imagination   did he think this could happen.  He faced a laundry list of charges ranging from corruption to bribery and made a desperate and futile attempt to clear his name till the end.

Mr.Thapa’s   ouster received overwhelming press coverage not surprisingly. Had the same press displayed responsibility, aggression, enthusiasm and vigor in their reporting   about him while he was in office, things would not have gotten so bad.

In retrospect, given  Mr. Thapa’s  status, connection,  influence, he had ample time  to make  valuable contributions by bringing real, meaningful  reform  to Nepal football but never did it.

Instead, he  chose to do  it the wrong way  and worked  to consolidate his position in power, nationally  and internationally.

In the process, he literally converted ANFA  into a fiefdom of his very own, packing  it with his sycophantic cronies in key positions.

He used the  same tactics  to solidify his position  in District  Football Associations (DFA) across the country, thus ensuring  his electoral success  for two decades.

Mr. Thapa became a close confidant of the disgraced former AFC President Mohammed Bin Hammam, which ultimately made him one of the most powerful figures in AFC.

After the fall of Mr. Hammam he hastily switched his loyalty to suspended FIFA Boss Sepp Blatter to save his skin.

No wonder Mr. Thapa ruled with an iron hand and became so obsessed and drunk with power, that he believed  he could do anything and  no one could stop him from doing what he wanted.

On the home turf, he combined  intrigue, threats, intimidation, influence  and favors to silence  his critics, including  journalists and  mainstream media.

In addition, he had the ability to put the  so-called leaders of  the  political  party in power in his pocket , and they were  too dumb and stupid to fall into his trap. These dumb politicians should hang their head in shame.

Despite allegations of  rampant corruption , maladministration and abuse of power, the government remained/remains  a silent spectator, allowing him to go scot-free to date.

A 2012  audit by  PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) found that   Gaurav Thapa, son of Mr. Thapa  had  received $ 100,000  from Mr. Hammam.

Likewise,  in 2012 the international auditors KPMG  working in compliance with FIFA’s Audit  & Compliance Committee  conducted a series of financial audits  into  potential financial irregularities  at ANFA  and identified inappropriate cash movements.

While our irresponsible  media  slept behind the wheels for  the most part, , international media  outlets   like  “The Sunday Times” ,  “Associated Press” , “Reuters’” and many more extensively reported  about Mr. Thapa, exposing his trail of  corruption.

The  investigative reporting  done by “Reuters “into how  ANFA spent the money received from FIFA under the goal program  was the final  nail in the coffin.

In the eyes  of our government, none of that mattered . They had/have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the matter, thus making a mockery of the legal system.

Everything has an end, good or bad it will end. That is so true.

In the end, Mr. Thapa dug his own grave  He  is a victim of his own  actions and  has no one to blame but himself.

FIFA has done ,what our toothless, coward government, which includes  Sports Ministry, National Sports Council, Nepal Olympic Committee and  Commission for  the Investigation of Abuse of the Authority ( CIAA)  failed  to do  so.

As I had said all along, only FIFA could/can  end  Mr. Thapa’s presidency. His removal from office is a slap on our government that refuses to investigate him .

Furthermore, CIAA has gone so far as to disregard the Parliamentary Public Account (PAC) order to investigate Mr. Thapa.

It appears though CIAA   has stalled the case at the behest of  none other than Chief of  CIAA  Lok Man Singh Karki, who is accused of  playing  a shameful and disgusting game .

No one is  above the law. Since  FIFA has found Mr. Thapa  guilty  of    corruption  and bribery, our  government must act now  and  direct  CIAA  to  investigate him without undue delay . No lawbreaker should be immune to the law if proven guilty.

The Nepali people have  a  right to know about the money  ANFA  received  in millions  from FIFA , AFC,  government , sponsors  and other avenues over the last twenty years under Mr. Thapa’s  leadership.

The financial records/reports must be made available to the public .CIAA  is obligated to leave no stone unturned to find if the money was  misused, mismanaged and wasted.

The anti-graft  agency  cannot ignore to  look into ANFA’s banking. It is reported that the football body has  accounts at multiple banks. Mr. Thapa’s inner coteries, including his son Gaurav Thapa  are important  part of the investigation.

The Police   must look into Mr. Thapa and his son ‘s supposed linked to the recent match- fixing scandal, as well.

Had it not been the unfolding of FIFA corruption scandal, push by the agitating ANFA officials and excellent international media reporting, probably, Mr. Thapa’s downfall would not have been possible.

In addition, the recent match-fixing scandal and age fraud incident   further   dealt a blow to Mr. Thapa ‘s leadership.

ANFA   is   still at the hands of Mr. Thapa’s loyalists, which makes no sense to me. They have lost the moral authority to govern. We need an ad hoc committee to handle the crisis immediately.