FIFA was
plunged into crisis on Wednesday after Swiss authorities arrested seven
football officials in a dawn raid at a luxury Zurich hotel and two separate
corruption investigations were launched.
The Swiss
Federal Office of Justice have opened criminal proceedings in connection with
the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on allegations of 'criminal
mismanagement and money laundering.'
In a
separate probe, the FBI will question those involved in bribes 'totalling more
than $150m (£97.4m)' linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for
football tournaments in the United States and Latin America.
The
United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the 'indictment alleges
corruption that is rampant, systemic and deep-rooted both abroad and in the
US.'
FBI
director James B. Comey said that 'undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks,
and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA.'
14
people have been charged by the United States Department of Justice, including
nine FIFA officials, as questioning by Swiss authorities began immediately.
Electronic
data was seized in a raid on FIFA's headquarters and bank documents have also
been obtained from financial institutions and some accounts frozen as part of
the inquiry.
FIFA
spokesman Walter de Gregorio said this week's congress and Friday's presidential election will continue as planned.
President Sepp Blatter is expected to win a fifth term in office.
De
Gregorio said Blatter, who was not detained, is 'relaxed' about the situation
and claimed this was a 'good day' for world's football's governing body.
Two
separate proceedings are now underway, plunging FIFA into chaos.
The
Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAS) is conducting the probe
regarding the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
The second criminal investigation is being led by the US
Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York concerning the
allocation of media, marketing and sponsoring rights for football tournaments
staged in North and Latin America dating back to the 1990s.
The
seven arrested in the dawn raid at the five-star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich at
the request of the US were:
- Jeffrey Webb - the FIFA vice-president and executive committee member from the Cayman Islands
- Eugenio Figueredo - FIFA vice-president and executive committee member from Uruguay
- Eduardo Li - current FIFA executive committee member-elect and Costa Rica Football Association president
- Julio Rocha - FIFA development officer and president of the Nicaragua FA
- Costas Takkas - attache to the CONCACAF president
- Rafael Esquivel - CONMEBOL executive committee member and Venezuela FA president
- Jose Maria Marin - former president of the Brazilian FA
The two
indicted defendants who were not among the seven arrested in Zurich this
morning are former FIFA vice president and executive committee member and
CONCACAF president Jack Warner and former FIFA executive committee member and
CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz.
Remarkably,
FIFA have not yet said any of these figures will be suspended.
The
convicted defendants are Chuck Blazer, former member of the FIFA executive
committee, Jose Hawilla (owner and founder of Brazilian sports marketing
conglomerate the Traffic Group) and Jack Warner's sons Daryll Warner and Daryan
Warner. The convicted corporations are Traffic Sports International Inc and
Traffic Sports USA Inc.
FBI
director 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.'
PROFILES OF THE FIFA OFFICIALS INDICTED
Jeffrey Webb - FIFA vice-president and president of CONCACAF.
The 50-year-old was born and lives in the Cayman Islands and is the Cayman
Islands Football Association president.
Eugenio Figueredo - Former footballer and now Uruguayan FA executive.
A former president of CONMEBOL, the South American football federation.
Jack Warner - Former FIFA vice-president and president of
CONCACAF from Trinidad and Tobago until he resigned from all his positions in
international football in 2011.
Eduardo Li - president of the Costa Rican Football
Association.
Julio Rocha - president of the Nicaraguan Football Federation.
Costas Takkas - a former general secretary of the Cayman Islands
Football Association.
Rafael Esquivel - president of the Venezuelan Football Federation
since 1988.
Jose Maria Marin - vice-president of the Brazil Football Federation
and its former president. The CBF were the football organisation who handed out
controversial £16,000 Parmigiani watches at their congress in Sao Paulo a year
ago, when Marin was the overlord of the association.
Nicolas Leoz - Former CONMEBOL president between 1986 and 2013.
He allegedly wanted the FA Cup named after him in exchange for a vote for England
in their attempts to host the 2018 World Cup.
Much of
the evidence has come from Blazer, a former member of the FIFA executive
committee who turned 'supergrass' for the FBI and has repaid $1m.
US
Attorney General Lynch added that the corruption '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'.
A
simplified procedure will apply for those who agree to be immediately
extradited and this will be approved by US authorities straight away.
If one
of those arrested opposes their extradition, the US will submit a formal
request for their extradition.
Warner
was the first to protest his innoncence despite his two sons already pleading
guilty to the charges.
He said
in a statement: 'I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been
questioned in this matter. I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges. I
have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the
improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.
'The
actions of FIFA no longer concern me. I cannot help but note, however, that
these cross-border coordinated actions come at a time when FIFA is assembled
for elections to select a president who is universally disliked by the
international community.
'At
times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically
take actions to affect world football. World football is an enormous
international business.
'That is
no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people
of Trinidad and Tobago.'
The
Swiss Attorney General would like to question the FIFA executive committee
members from 2010 still in place.
They are
Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), Angel Maria Villar Llona (Spain), Michael D'Hooghe
(Belgium), Senes Erzik (Turkey), Worawi Makudi (Thailand), Rafael Salguero
(Guatamala), Marios Lefkaritis (Cyprus), Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast), Harry
Abo Rida (Egypt) and Vitaly Mutko (Russia).
Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini,
also on the committee at the time, will not be questioned yet.
The FBI raiding
party arrived at the hotel at 6am and the last arrest was of Li, who was led
from the building with a sheet over his head at 6.45am.
FIFA
President Blatter was scheduled to make an appearance at the Confederation of
African Football (CAF) congress at 10.30am on Wednesday morning but did not
show up.
His next
scheduled appearance is at a FIFA medical conference at 9.15am on
Thursday.
In a
hastily convened press conference FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, spokesman De
Gregorio said: 'FIFA initiated this process. The timing may not be the best,
but FIFA welcomes this process and co-operates fully with the authorities.
'There are two separate investigations. It
was a question of co-ordination. They had to co-ordinate and be as efficient as
possible. The fact it happened two days before the congress, everyone is here
and we have good international coverage.'
PROFILES OF THE OTHER FIGURES ARRESTED
Alejandro Burzaco - chief executive of an Argentine sports
communications firm 'Torneos y Competencias'. TyC purchased the broadcasting
rights for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Aaron Davidson - chief executive of the North American Soccer
League, a professional league in the US and Canada.
Hugo Jinkis - President of Full Play Group, a sports marketing
company in Argentina formed in 1998.
Mariano Jinkis - Vice-president of Full Play Group, a sports
marketing company in Argentina formed in 1998.
Jose Margulies - charged as an intermediary who facilitated
illegal payments.
De
Gregorio then claimed that FIFA is the 'damaged party' in this process. He
said: 'This for FIFA is good. It's not good in terms of image or reputation.,
but in terms of cleaning up.
'For us
once again, it is not a nice day and we have other things to do as well but in
other words it is also a good day. The process goes on and we are looking
forward to have the results.'
A FIFA statement released on Wednesday afternoon
added: 'FIFA welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any
wrongdoing in football.
'We are
pleased to see that the investigation is being energetically pursued for the
good of football and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that FIFA
has already taken.'
FIFA
Presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, reacting to the news, said:
'Today is a sad day for football. Clearly this is a developing story, the
details of which are still emerging. It would not be appropriate to comment
further at this time.'
In a statement, Football Association chairman Greg
Dyke said: 'We should stress this morning's developments are very serious for
FIFA and its current leadership.
'As one
of the associations who nominated Prince Ali it will not surprise you to learn
that if the election for president goes ahead The FA will be voting for him.
However, there must be a question mark over whether the election should take
place in these circumstances.
'Clearly
things are changing very quickly and our delegation to the FIFA congress in
Zurich, which I am leading, will discuss the position and what we should do
about it with our colleagues in UEFA when we meet tomorrow morning.'
It is
believed UEFA's executive committee will hold an informal meeting to discuss
the developments ahead of Wednesday evening's Europa League final in
Warsaw.
Jim
Boyce, Britain's outgoing FIFA vice-president, said: 'This is another sad day
for FIFA. I hope the investigations that FIFA have themselves initiated will
lead to those individuals - if found guilty of dishonesty and corruption -
dealt with in the strongest possible manner by the law authorities.'
Russia's
sports minister Vitaly Mutko claimed the arrests were not linked to his
country's successful bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.
Damian
Collins, the British MP who founded the reform group New FIFA Now, said the
news was hugely significant for FIFA and could have a massive impact on the
governing body.
'The
chickens are finally coming home to roost and this sounds like a hugely
significant development for FIFA,' he told Reuters.
'It proves that Sepp Blatter's promises
over the last few years to look into corruption at FIFA have not materialised
and because he has totally failed to do this, it has been left to an outside
law enforcement agency to do the job and take action.'
LUXURY AND LOBBYING
The
five-star Baur au Lac hotel, which has been a landmark of Zurich for 170 years,
is a popular place for FIFA officials to stay.
Set in
its own park, the luxury hotel boasts view over the Zurichsee and the Alps. It
is a few minutes' walk from the city centre and shopping areas.
It was
the stage for intense lobbying for votes ahead of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup
hosting decisions in December 2010.
The
Swiss Federal Office of Justice said in a statement that US authorities suspect
the six officials of having received or paid bribes totalling millions and that
the crimes were agreed to and prepared in the US, and payments carried out via
US banks.
The FOJ
said the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is
investigating the individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and
kick-backs between the early 1990s and now.
'The US
authorities suspect them of having received bribes totalling in the USD
millions,' said the statement.
'The
arrest warrants were issued further to a request by the US authorities. The US
Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating these
individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and kick-backs between the
early 1990s and the present day.
'The
bribery suspects -- representatives of sports media and sports promotion firms
-- are alleged to have been involved in schemes to make payments to the soccer
officials -- delegates of FIFA and other functionaries of FIFA
sub-organizations -- totalling more than $100 million.
'In
return, it is believed that they received media, marketing, and sponsorship
rights in connection with soccer tournaments in Latin America.
'According
to the US request, these crimes were agreed and prepared in the US, and
payments were carried out via US banks.
The
statement said the detainees would be questioned by Zurich police regarded the
US request.
'A
simplified procedure will apply for wanted persons who agree to their immediate
extradition. The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) can immediately approve their
extradition to the US and order its execution.
'However,
if a wanted person opposes their extradition, the FOJ will invite the US to
submit a formal extradition request within the deadline of 40 days specified in
the bilateral extradition treaty.'
STATEMENT BY SWISS FEDERAL OFFICE OF JUSTICE
'By
order of the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ), six soccer officials were
arrested in Zurich today (Wednesday) and detained pending extradition.
'The US
authorities suspect them of having received bribes totaling in the USD
millions.
The six
soccer functionaries were arrested today in Zurich by the Zurich Cantonal
Police.
'The
FOJ’s arrest warrants were issued further to a request by the US authorities.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating
these individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and kick-backs
between the early 1990s and the present day.
'The
bribery suspects – representatives of sports media and sports promotion firms –
are alleged to have been involved in schemes to make payments to the soccer
functionaries – delegates of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football
Association) and other functionaries of FIFA sub-organizations – totaling more
than USD 100 million.
'In
return, it is believed that they received media, marketing, and sponsorship
rights in connection with soccer tournaments in Latin America.
'According
to the US request, these crimes were agreed and prepared in the US, and
payments were carried out via US banks.
'The
Zurich Cantonal Police will question the detainees today on behalf of the FOJ
regarding the US request for their arrest. A simplified procedure will apply
for wanted persons who agree to their immediate extradition.
'The FOJ
can immediately approve their extradition to the US and order its execution.
'However,
if a wanted person opposes their extradition, the FOJ will invite the US to
submit a formal extradition request within the deadline of 40 days specified in
the bilateral extradition treaty.'
Source:dailymailsport.co.uk
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