A 42-year-old match promoter with the FIFA national football organization and representative of the Qatar football team, Ali Homoud Alnaimi, has been charged with transportation of child pornography, according to an Aug. 3 announcement from federal authorities in Houston.
Alnaimi was taken into custody in Galveston after returning to the United States from Mexico on a cruise ship. At a detention hearing held July 29, the court heard about images found on Alnaimi’s phones that allegedly depicted male children under five years old being sexually exploited. Evidence presented also indicated that Alnaimi could easily return to Qatar, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. On July 31, the court ordered him into custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The criminal complaint alleges that Alnaimi had traveled to multiple states while in the United States and was taking a vacation from Galveston before leaving for Qatar. He was allegedly in possession of child sexual abuse material brought into the country. Upon his arrest, law enforcement reportedly discovered numerous videos depicting child pornography on his cell phone.
If convicted, Alnaimi faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from Customs and Border Protection. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Whitney prosecuted the case.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct and is not evidence; defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas has offices in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville; it employs more than 200 attorneys covering 43 counties with a population exceeding nine million; it focuses on prosecuting federal crimes and handling civil cases for the government; it operates as part of the U.S. Department of Justice under the Attorney General, according to its official website. The office’s former leaders include Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) and Ryan Patrick as noted by its official history page.