FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges

[Sumocakewalk]

FIFA officials were escorted out behind sheets at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich.
(Credit Pascal Mora for The New York Times)

Blatter Isn’t Among Them

New York Times
May 27, 2015
By Matt Apuzzo, Michael S. Schmidt, William K. Rashbaum and Sam Bordenmay

ZURICH — Swiss authorities conducted an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges.

As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They went to the front desk to get keys and proceeded upstairs to the rooms.

The arrests were carried out peacefully, with at least two men being ushered out of the hotel without handcuffs. One FIFA official, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel. He was allowed to bring his luggage, which was adorned with FIFA logos.

The charges allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case. The charges include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, and officials said they targeted members of FIFA’s powerful executive committee, which wields enormous power and does its business largely in secret.

The arrests were a startling blow to FIFA, a multibillion-dollar organization that governs the world’s most popular sport but has been plagued by accusations of bribery for decades.

The inquiry is also a major threat to Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s longtime president who is generally recognized as the most powerful person in sports, though he was not charged. An election, seemingly pre-ordained to give him a fifth term as president, is scheduled for Friday.

Prosecutors planned to unseal an indictment against more than 10 officials, not all of whom are in Zurich, law enforcement officials said. Among them are Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, a vice president of the executive committee; Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, who is also an executive committee vice president and until recently was the president of South America’s soccer association; and Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, a former member of the executive committee who has been accused of numerous ethical violations.

“We’re struck by just how long this went on for and how it touched nearly every part of what FIFA did,” said a law enforcement official. “It just seemed to permeate every element of the federation and was just their way of doing business. It seems like this corruption was institutionalized.”

The Justice Department, the F.B.I. and FIFA did not have any immediate comment.

full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/sp...ges-in-us.html

[Bobcock]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of cnuts..... I see Jack Warner is one of them....been a scumbag for years that twat

And no..... I'm not talking Dixon Of Dock Green for the pensioners amongst us)

[Neo]

stunning news..! I hope the corruption charges involve the shady dealing with Qatar

[Stinky]

Well what do you know, miracles actually do happen.

[Dragonfly94]

Surely just a misunderstanding? about time too and the Olympic lot of corrupt bastards should be next

[Bruce Bayliss]

I see Jack Warner is one of them

[Norton]

Hope they nail Blather as well. No way this went on without his knowlege or active participation.

[taxexile]

That will teach those corrupt pigs for sneering at England when they mentioned the dirty tricks used to secure the World cup for Qatar.




looks like the greasy goon is coming in his pants.


shame on the europeans for not investigating this.

[reddog]

Hope they nail Blather as well. No way this went on without his knowlege or active participation.

Saw this on the tv news early today and was hoping to see that smug Blatter being led out,pity he was not,good on the Yanks going after them,everyone else was too gutless
or did not have the laws the Yanks have concerning corruption.
One can only hope this lot start squealing when looking at time in the big house
and put Blatter out to dry.

[cyrille]

Saw this on the tv news early today and was hoping to see that smug Blatter being led out,pity he was not,good on the Yanks going after them,everyone else was too gutless
or did not have the laws the Yanks have concerning corruption.

The dirty deals were allegedly done on US soil, which given that these guys are South American and Caribbean is not surprising.

[Bruce Bayliss]

Hope they nail Blather as well.

They will. I think Bill Clinton is behind this.

[cyrille]

[taxexile]

it was an american member of fifa who grassed them up.

[taxexile]

Fifa is about to learn a stern lesson about the vigour of American prosecution
Other countries have been reluctant to investigate football's governing body.

But the US is different. Here's why


Once again it is the Americans who are acting as the world’s police. They have led the charge in punishing misbehaving banks and bankers in the wake of the financial crisis and now they have turned their sights on Fifa – this morning six officials from football’s governing body were arrested in Zurich on suspicion of corruption at the US Department of Justice’s request.


The whiff of corruption has hung around Fifa for years (not least thanks to the Telegraph's own investigation into the bidding process for the 2022 Qatar World Cup in March). And yet most countries appeared powerless to do anything about it, perhaps, as Simon Kuper wrote in the Financial Times this weekend, because they weren’t prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for their principles.

But now the US Justice Department and the FBI have rushed in where others feared to tread. What makes America different?

The exact details of this case are yet to emerge but a number of conclusions can be drawn from the vigour with which US regulators have pursued errant banks (not least because, as The New York Times notes, Fifa has $1.5bn in reserves and is as much a financial conglomerate as it is a sports organisation).





First, Americans have a deep-seated and historical abhorrence of white collar crime. There are few fully-satisfactory explanations for this. Some have suggested that it offends the sense of fairness that underpins the American Dream.
But, whatever the reason, the upshot is that, if you are found guilty of a white-collar crime in the US, they throw away the key. Federal prosecutors can, for example, count every email a criminal sends in the course of committing their offence as a separate case of wire fraud – and each count will carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.


Second, the path from law school, to legal firm, to the district attorney’s office or other regulators, and then on to political office is well-trodden in the States. This means that US regulators are staffed by bright, ambitious people who actively go hunting for big scalps.

Third, US law gives its agencies a great deal of lateral in prosecuting foreign nationals and companies. If an organisation stores its emails on a US server or uses an American bank account, it's fair game.
Which brings us to the fourth and most powerful weapon that America has in its fight against tax evasion, money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes – the mighty dollar. US regulators are able to effectively force foreign banks to aid their investigations. How? If the banks don't comply, the US authorities will hit them where it hurts by shutting them out of the largest financial market in the world.

Fifa is about to learn a stern lesson about the vigour of American prosecution - Telegraph

[Cujo]

I could never figure how Qatar could have won the 2022 world cup unless corruption was involved.
It just didn't make sense.

Football’s most powerful figures await extradition to US
Several of the global football industry’s most powerful figures are in detention waiting extradition to the United States after being arrested in Switzerland on Wednesday (May 27) in connection with US and Swiss corruption cases.

Jeffery Webb: FIFA vice president who is head of football’s governing body in north and central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and president of the Cayman Islands Football Association.

Eugenio Figueredo: President of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) since his incumbent was accused of corruption.

José María Marín: President of Brazil’s Football Federation and president of the organizing committee for the 2014 Brasil World Cup.

Eduardo Li: Costa Rica national football chief Eduardo Li who was expected to become a FIFA executive committee member on Friday (May 29).

Rafael Esquivel: President of Venezuela Football Federation, and

Julio Rocha: President of Nicaragua’s Football Federation and FIFA development officer.

Also under investigation is former FIFA vice president Jack Warner who resigned four years ago amid corruption accusations. He not arrested because he was not staying at the luxury Swiss hotel.

Huge question marks hang over the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2018 tournament in Russia.
However as things stand now FIFA says they will both go ahead as scheduled.

The chairman of sports committee at the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the Duma, told journalists that the arrests of FIFA officials are not related to Russia’s bidding campaign for the 2018 World Cup.

“I can say with utmost certainty that all questions to those (FIFA) officials are not related to the bidding campaign of the Russian Federation for the 2018 World Cup,” said the committee chairman, Igor Ananskikh.

Read more at LiveLeak.com - Football?s most powerful figures await extradition to US

[harrybarracuda]

I hope every single one of those 14 are singing like canaries, all off the same song sheet:

"It was Blatter".

[kingwilly]

I hope every single one of those 14 are singing like canaries, all off the same song sheet:

"It was Blatter".

I think you and about 6 1/2 billion other people feel the same way.

[Kurgen]

Some snippits from The Huffington Post

Former FIFA president João Havelange took $1 million in bribes from a sports marketing company, said an ethics committee report. The money crossed now-president Sepp Blatter's desk, but he claimed he didn't know it was a bribe.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter paid a friendly visit to Liberian president Charles Taylor in 1999 to thank the dictator for his support in the previous year's FIFA elections. Taylor would later be found guilty of war crimes at The Hague, but his atrocities were well known at the time of Blatter's visit, says journalist Andrew Jennings.

In 2009, Blatter handed a FIFA medal to Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin, just as the politician had been suspected of torture and voting fraud.

"I do not believe a Jew can ever be a referee at this level. It's hard work and, you know, Jews don't like hard work." - FIFA senior vice-president Julio Grondona, on refereeing standards in Argentina, in 2003.

Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) vice-president José Maria Marin was caught pocketing a winner's medal meant for a player at the Sao Paulo Juniors Cup in 2012. He has since been named CBF president.

FIFA threatened to ban reporters from the 2010 World Cup if they wrote stories that brought the organization into "disrepute."

Pelé once accused the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) of corruption after its chief, Ricardo Teixeira, allegedly asked for a $1 million bribe as the soccer legend sought broadcast rights to the 1994 World Cup. Then-FIFA president João Havelange subsequently struck Pelé’s name from a guest list for the World Cup draw in 1993.

FIFA banned street vendors from selling newspapers near stadiums at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, despite it being an activity that helps poorer citizens make money.

Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner (pictured) asked for a reported £2.5 million payment as countries looked to snag the 2018 World Cup, former English bid chairman Lord Triesman told a select committee in 2011. He also alleged that Nicolás Leoz, a FIFA member from Paraguay, asked for a knighthood.

Former FIFA vice-president Mohammed Bin Hammam paid soccer officials US $5 million to support Qatar's World Cup bid, claims The Sunday Times. Qatar denies wrongdoing and says Bin Hammam had no official role in its bid.

Sepp Blatter called criticism of Qatar's successful World Cup bid "racist." He also said that people were "plotting to destroy" FIFA, though he never specified who he was talking about.

FIFA executive Ricardo Teixeira was convicted in 2009 of smuggling goods through customs as he and Brazil's national team returned from their World Cup victory in 1994. Teixeira threatened to cancel the victory parade if their baggage didn't go through unchecked.

FIFA demands tax exemptions from countries bidding on the World Cup. This includes its "revenues, profits, income, expenses, costs, investments and any and all kinds of payments," according to a Dutch government memo.

Chelsea FC captain John Terry (right) was alleged to have racially abused Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand (left) during a game in 2011. How did Sepp Blatter respond? He downplayed the issue of racism, saying players should just settle it with a handshake. He later apologized.

Sepp Blatter cut short a minute-long silence honouring Nelson Mandela at the World Cup draws last year. "That was a shameful action," said Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal.

Qatar's World Cup 'Slave-Labour' Attacked By Five Players, Including Lee Dixon And David Ginola

[Johnny Farang]

With regard to Blatter, ESPN has a useful précis:

[thaimeme]

The system is rotten and crooked to the core - runs deep for decades.

[Bobcock]

I see Asia, that bastion of honesty in the football world insists that the vote should go ahead on Friday and it is supporting Blatter.

UEFA should boycott the vote and then boycott the World Cup if it goes ahead.

[Seekingasylum]

Might I suggest that prosecuting sports officials for corruption is not in itself a fuckimg sport and this report should therefore be in the news section where it belongs.

Apropos Amercian vigour in dealing with white collar thieves it is probably pertinent to note that if the Enron and Madoff cases had occurred in Britain, Italy, Spain or France they would probably still be free now.

if UEFA countries had declined to participate in the World Cup tournament because of the degree of corruption required in order to secure hosting rights and all the wealth that flows from it, then we would not have the malaise that afflicts FIFA.

The Qatari and Russian awards should be cancelled.

[Cujo]

Anyway, it looks to be an interesting few months to a year ahead.
I assume prosecution has all their ducks in a row otherwise they wouldn't have made the arrests.

[Kurgen]

The Qatari and Russian awards should be cancelled.

spot on

[Cujo]

Fifa crisis: Uefa wants presidential election postponed

European football's leaders are to meet on Thursday in a bid to postpone Fifa's presidential election.
Uefa says Friday's vote should not go ahead after bribery and racketeering charges were laid against senior officials in football's governing body.
"These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in Fifa's culture," Uefa said.
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan is standing against incumbent Sepp Blatter in the election.
Uefa added Friday's meeting of Fifa's members risked turning into "a farce" and said it could even boycott the gathering.
"The Uefa member associations are meeting tomorrow ahead of the Fifa Congress. At that point, the European associations will decide on what further steps need to be taken to protect the game of football," it added in a statement.
"In the meantime, the members of the Uefa Executive Committee are convinced that there is a strong need for a change to the leadership of this Fifa and strongly believe that the Fifa Congress should be postponed, with new Fifa presidential elections to be organised within the next six months."
Prince Ali has called for a change of Fifa's leadership and said in a statement: "We cannot continue with the crisis in Fifa."
Analysis - BBC sports editor Dan Roan
"The fact Uefa has come out and threatened to boycott the general assembly that begins on Friday unless the election is not postponed, tells you everything. The stakes are being raised. Blatter's opponents are seeking to capitalise on the biggest predicament of his career. He has been here before of course , vastly experienced, one of sport's great survivors. Do not be surprised if he can resist the call for him to step down, postpone the election or a sensational recount."
However, Uefa's stance is not shared by all football administrators. The Asian Football Confederation opposes a postponed election - and will vote for Blatter.
In addition to a United States-led criminal investigation, Swiss officials are looking into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
Fifa has welcomed the investigations into alleged corruption by some of its most powerful figures and said there is no question of re-running the 2018 and 2022 bids.
It has also insisted the election will go ahead as planned.
Fifa's Independent Ethics Committee has also banned 11 officials named by investigators from football activities. "Such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game," Blatter said.
'They'll have no option but to rethink and revote'

Sepp Blatter
Fifa say there will not be a revote for the 2018 World Cup in Russia or the 2022 tournament in Qatar
Lennart Johansson, former president of European football's governing body Uefa, says the decision to award the World Cup to Russia and Qatar should now be reviewed following the latest Fifa corruption allegations.
The 85-year-old Swede told newspaper Sportbladet: "I expect they will reconsider the decisions. Blatter himself has said that the decision to go east wasn't proper. I am sure the initiative will now be taken to make a new decision."
He also suggested England should be given the finals in 2018: "They haven't had it since 1966, and it's considered 'the motherland of football', whatever we might think. They are worthy of the attention," Johansson said.
Ex-England striker and BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker agreed that the bidding process should be reviewed: "There are now major investigations not just concerning Fifa and corruption but also the two bids - World Cups 2018 and 2022 - so a lot will depend on how rotten it was and how corrupt the voting process was.
"If it's substantial enough then I think they'll have no option but to rethink and revote. It's a mess, it's a huge mess."
Former Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Palios believes Fifa's resolve in not re-running a bid could be "tested". He told the BBC: "In the past they've said if there is proven corruption of the process they would make changes and this is first time that will actually be tested."
But others doubt Fifa's appetite for a new vote.
Can Friday's election go ahead?

Prince Ali is the only challenger to Swiss Blatter after former Portugal international Luis Figo and Dutch Football Federation boss Michael van Praag withdrew so as not to split the anti-Blatter vote.
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Lineker calls for Fifa 'boycott'
Blatter, who has been in power since 1998, is expected to win a fifth term as president as he is understood to have the backing of the majority of Fifa's 209 member associations - despite the opposition from Uefa, which has 53 member associations.
And FA chairman Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 5 live: "This is a very serious day for Fifa and the leadership of Fifa and we would vote for Prince Ali, we were one of the people who nominated him to stand against Sepp Blatter and we would certainly vote for him if the election goes ahead but I'm not sure that it will go ahead in these circumstances."
David Mellor, chairman of the government's Football Task Force between 1997 and 1999, said: "To say this election can go on Friday takes absurdity to unrivalled lengths."
Former FA chairman David Bernstein told the BBC voters need more time to assess the ramifications of Wednesday's news and that the election should be postponed.
"There's too much uncertainty and a lot of evidence and stuff to come onto the table that you would've thought people would want to know about this sort of stuff," he said.
However, former Fifa advisor Michael Hershman told the BBC: "I reckon they will go ahead. I think Blatter has enough confidence to win, which is really unfortunate. Whilst not getting arrested himself he must take responsibility for creating a climate within Fifa which has led to various scandals and essentially to these arrests."
Fifa under Blatter 'lacks credibility'

Prince Ali, the man hoping to oust Blatter added a change of leadership was needed to restore confidence in Fifa.
He said Fifa needed leadership that:
"Governs guides and protects our national associations"
"Accepts responsibility for its actions and does not pass blame"
"Restores confidence in the hundreds of millions of football fans around the world"
BBC Newsnight chief correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said Blatter may be quizzed following Wednesday's developments.
A spokesman for the Swiss attorney general, Andre Marty, told Kuenssberg that "theoretically, every person involved in the allocation of the World Cups might be questioned".
Earlier this week, Uefa chief Michel Platini said Fifa will continue to "lack credibility" as long as Blatter remains in place.
Lineker also believes Blatter must go: "There can't be a more corrupt, deplorable organisation on Earth than Fifa. The house of cards is falling. Time for change!"
Britain's Minister for Sport Tracey Crouch said she "fully backed" calls for change, claiming "reform is urgently needed at the top of Fifa".
Labour too has called for Blatter to "step aside" and urged sponsors to withdraw support unless Fifa initiates "fundamental and immediate reform".
How the drama unfolded

BBC Sport - Fifa crisis: Uefa wants presidential election postponed