FIFA accused of rampant and systemic corruption by investigators

FIFA was plunged into the biggest meltdown in its scandal-hit history on Wednesday after a wave of arrests of football officials in Zurich on corruption charges and explosive allegations of bribery and racketeering from United States investigators.

United States FIFA

United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch (R), at the press conference alleging corruption at FIFA. (AAP) Source: EPA

Seven officials, including FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb from the Cayman Islands, were arrested by Swiss authorities on behalf of the US Department of Justice which has indicted 18 people alleging bribery totalling close to $200 million.

In a separate development, the Swiss attorney general also opened criminal proceedings over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups and seized documents and electronic data from FIFA's headquarters and will question 10 current FIFA executive committee members who voted on that tournament.

The twin proceedings have cast FIFA into a state of crisis ahead of Friday's presidential election but the world governing body has said the vote, where incumbent Sepp Blatter is facing Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, will go ahead.
A day of drama began at dawn in Zurich when Swiss law enforcement officers swooped on the five-star Baur au Lac hotel and arrested the seven officials for alleged racketeering, conspiracy and corruption ahead of planned extradition to the US.

The US Department of Justice's office of public affairs confirmed 50-year-old Webb was among those arrested at the request of the United States along with another FIFA vice-president Eugenio Figueredo from Uruguay, Costa Rica's Eduardo Li, who was due to become a FIFA member on Friday, and Brazilian FA deputy president Jose Maria Marin. The other officials were named as Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel.

In total nine FIFA officials or former officials and five corporate executives have been indicted, including disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner from Trinidad. A further four have already pleaded guilty to charges including Chuck Blazer, the 'supergrass' believed to have provided much of the evidence for the FBI investigation, and Warner's two sons, Daryll and Daryan Warner.

US attorney general Loretta Lynch said the indictment alleged "corruption that is rampant, systemic and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States", and that it "spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks".

The investigation into World Cup bidding will see 10 FIFA members questioned by Swiss police this week - they are those members who took part in the 2010 vote who are still on the executive committee and who are non-Swiss residents - meaning that Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini are not among those to be quizzed.
FIFA communications director Walter De Gregorio told a news conference in Zurich that the investigation would not affect the hosting of the World Cups in Russia and Qatar, nor the presidential election on Friday.

He said: "The election will take place as planned. The World Cups 2018 and 2022 will be played in Russia and Qatar."



UK sports minister Tracey Crouch said FIFA's leadership should be held accountable. She said via a statement: "I fully back the FA's position that change and reform is urgently needed at the top of FIFA, including its leadership.

"I welcome the investigations that are now underway into the allegations of bribery and corruption."

Prince Ali issued a statement saying: "We cannot continue with the crisis in FIFA, a crisis that has been ongoing and is not just relevant to the events of today. FIFA needs leadership that governs guides and protects our national associations. Leadership that accepts responsibility for its actions and does not pass blame. Leadership that restores confidence in the hundreds of millions of football fans around the world."

FBI director James B Comey said: "As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world.

"Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA.

"When leaders in an organisation resort to cheating the very members that they were supposed to represent, they must be held accountable.

"Whether you call it soccer or football, the fans, players and sponsors around the world who love this game should not have to worry about officials corrupting their sport.

"This case isn't about soccer, it is about fairness and following the law."

The two indicted defendants who were not among the seven arrested in Zurich this morning are Warner and Paraguay's former FIFA member Nicolas Leoz, who was named in a Swiss legal report in 2013 for taking bribes and whose aides asked for the FA Cup to be named after him and for a knighthood in return for supporting England's 2018 World Cup bid.

The arrests began at 6am and the officials were led un-handcuffed from their hotel rooms to unmarked police cars. Those arrested can either accept extradition to the United States or have 40 days to contest their removal from Switzerland. The wives of at least two of those arrested, including Webb, were seen in tears in the lobby of the Baur au Lac hotel.

Webb, 50, holds a British passport and has been named by Blatter as a potential successor.

Meanwhile, the 10 FIFA members who will be questioned by Swiss police this week over World Cup bidding are:

Michel D'Hooghe (Belgium), Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast), Marios Lefkaritis (Cyprus), Angel Villar-Llona (Spain), Senes Erzik (Turkey, Worawi Makudi (Thailand), Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), Hany Abo Rida (Egypt), Vitaly Mutko (Russia) and Rafael Salguero (Guatemala).

US attorney general Lynch said corruption also involved bidding for the World Cup in 2010 and Brazil's sponsorship with Nike, which signed a $200 million deal with the Brazilian Football Confederation in 1996 and still has a deal with the association.

Lynch told a news conference in Brooklyn: "The criminal activity we have identified did not solely involve sports marketing. Around 2004, bidding began for the opportunity to host the 2010 World Cup, which was ultimately awarded to South Africa - the first time the tournament would be held on the African continent. But even for this historic event, FIFA executives and others corrupted the process by using bribes to influence the hosting decision.

"The indictment also alleges that corruption and bribery extended to the 2011 FIFA presidential election, and to agreements regarding sponsorship of the Brazilian national soccer team by a major US sportswear company."

Lynch said she "could not comment" on whether Nike was the firm involved.


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6 min read
Published 28 May 2015 3:21am
Updated 28 May 2015 9:30am
Source: PA Sport

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