BERNE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - FIFA has formally opened a new
investigation into former presidential candidate Mohamed bin
Hammam, less than one month after his life ban for bribery was
overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The investigation was opened by Michael Garcia, the former
U.S. attorney who was appointed last month to head the
investigatory chamber of the ethics committee responsible for
dealing with corruption in soccer's governing body.
Bin Hammam, a former head of the former Asian Football
Confederation (AFC), had already been provisionally suspended.
"These proceedings follow the provisional banning for Bin
Hammam for 90 days as established by the ethics committee on
July 26 after a preliminary investigation of the case," FIFA
said in a statement.
FIFA is collecting further evidence over allegations that
Bin Hammam tried to bribe Caribbean officials in the run-up to
last year's FIFA election.
It will also investigate allegations of financial wrongdoing
while he was head of AFC.
Bin Hammam, a former member of FIFA's executive committee,
challenged Sepp Blatter for the presidency of soccer's world
ruling body last year.
Bin Hammam withdrew his candidacy days before the June
election over allegations that he had tried to buy the votes of
Caribbean officials by handing them $40,000 each in brown
envelopes at a meeting in Port of Spain.
Blatter was subsequently re-elected unopposed for a fourth
term as FIFA president and Bin Hammam was banned for life.
CAS upheld Bin Hammam's appeal against a life ban, saying
FIFA's evidence had been insufficient. However, it said the
decision was not "an affirmative finding of innocence" for Bin
Hammam, and that the case could be re-opened with new evidence.
(Reporting By Brian Homewood, editing by Ed Osmond)