Speaking in Washington later Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the arrests of the football confederation presidents are part of a larger 92-count indictment against 16 new defendants, all of whom are sitting or former football officials.
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Zurich: FIFA vice presidents Juan Angel Napout and Alfredo Hawit have been banned from football after being indicted on bribery and racketeering charges.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ending the rampant corruption we have alleged amidst the leadership of worldwide soccer – not only because of the scale of the schemes, or the brazenness and breadth of the operation required to sustain such corruption, but also because of the affront to global principles that this behaviour represents”, added Lynch.
What else is on the new indictment?
The total number of individuals and entities – such as sports marketing companies – charged to date is now 41.
The convicted defendants have agreed to forfeit more than $190m (£125m).
“In addition, more than $100 million has been restrained in the United States and overseas in connection with the alleged criminal activity”. The US has also asked 13 other countries to help them seize assets.
The body s long-time president Sepp Blatter, the subject of criminal investigation in Switzerland, has been suspended for 90-days and is facing tougher punishment by FIFA s internal ethics watchdog.
They included Ricardo Teixeira, the former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation and a former FIFA vice-president; Ariel Alvarado, a Panamanian who sits on FIFA’s disciplinary committee; and Rafael Callejas, president of Honduras 1990-1994 and former head of the Honduran football federation.
The charges allege that illegal payments have been made around the sale of broadcasting rights for tournaments into the next decade.
Blatter was re-elected as president for a fifth term but said on June 2 he would step down at an extraordinary congress on February 26, when the reform package is also to be approved for good. He took over on May 28 after his predecessor Jeffrey Webb was arrested in Zurich.
Asked about reports of a $100 million loss in 2015, acting secretary general Markus Kattner declined to say how much of FIFA’s $1.5 billion reserves have been spent on legal bills and making up a shortfall from a failure to sign new World Cup sponsors.
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“This was supposed to be the day when Federation Internationale de Football Association launched a fightback”. Luckily for those of us who want to see the incompetent and corrupt world soccer organization brought to its knees, it’s happening again! Seven defendents based in Central America were indicted, alongside another nine from South America. “You will not escape our focus”.
