FIFA stepped up its investigation into executive committee member Worawi Makudi on Wednesday as the governing body remains unconvinced the Thai official didn't use development funds for his own gain.
FIFA said it has asked Makudi for more evidence to answer allegations that $860,000 of funds handed out to the Football Association of Thailand were used to build soccer projects on land he owns.
Makudi claims he had already donated the land in question to the federation, of which he is president, but FIFA said he has failed to provide enough documents to support that claim. The governing body said it will launch a formal case if Makudi fails to prove his case by Dec. 1.
''Should FIFA not receive the requested legal confirmation from Mr. Makudi by that date, then the matter would be referred to the Ethics Committee,'' the governing body said in a statement.
FIFA was apparently unconvinced that the land had actually been given over to the federation, despite Makudi twice providing copies of land deeds and legal papers since the allegations of a conflict of interest were made by a Swiss business newspaper.
Makudi's legal troubles have emerged as FIFA President Sepp Blatter launches a zero tolerance drive against corruption after a series of bribery and vote-rigging allegations involving world soccer leaders.
The 59-year-old Makudi has been a member of FIFA's ruling executive panel for 14 years and is a close ally of Mohamed bin Hammam, the Qatari president of Asian football who is appealing a life ban for bribery imposed by the ethics committee.
Worawi could face his own probe if FIFA believes he might have broken a rule relating to ''private or personal interests include gaining any possible advantage for himself, his family, relatives, friends and acquaintances.''
The case centers on a training field and FAT headquarters built in the Nong Chok district in Bangkok with funds from FIFA's Goal project.
Thailand received the maximum $400,000 in funding each time, in 2004 and '07, and also used $60,000 of its annual FIFA grant toward the artificial field.
Makudi denies wrongdoing, and told Thai media in September he was ''disappointed'' that FIFA did not accept his initial set of documents.
''Their failure to do so has tainted my reputation,'' Makudi said then.
The Goal project allocates millions of dollars each year to fund the sport in less-developed soccer nations. It was created by Blatter in 1999, and the committee allocating funds was chaired by bin Hammam until his ban.
Makudi was also one of four FIFA executives accused of engaging in ''improper and unethical'' conduct during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups by David Triesman, the former chairman of England's failed 2018 campaign.
At a British parliamentary hearing in May, Triesman alleged that Makudi wanted to receive money from English TV for them to broadcast a planned friendly against Thailand.
The committee of British legislators, who published a report into alleged wrongdoing in bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, on Wednesday demanded an independent investigation into that process.
''The committee is still concerned that no apparent effort was made by FIFA to investigate these allegations when they were put to it, and that other allegations - specifically those made by Lord Triesman in evidence to the committee - remain,'' the committee said in a statement.
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AP Sports Writer Rob Harris in London contributed to this report.
