US Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks about the corruption scandal engulfing Federation Internationale de Football Association at the Justice … All six are members of Fifa’s Executive Committee as well.
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The arrests, coming as FIFA’s leaders gathered in Zurich, served as a high-profile reminder that despite the organization’s promises of reform, soccer’s top officials remain under intense legal scrutiny.
The others are Manuel Burga – former Peru FA president, Carlos Chavez – Bolivia football president, Luis Chiriboga – Ecuador football president, Marco Polo del Nero – Brazil football president, Eduardo Deluca – Conmebol general secretary, Jose Luis Meiszner – former Conmebol secretary general, Romer Osuna – Bolivia football audit and compliance committee chief and Ricardo Teixeira – former Brazil FA chief.
In addition to naming new defendants, the superseding indictment also expands the bribery and corruption charges set forth in the original indictment unsealed last May.
Seven officials named in Thursday’s announcement are from North America’s soccer federation (CONCACAF) and nine are from South America’s federation (CONMEBOL). His predecessor, Jack Warner, is fighting extradition to the United States after getting charged in May as well.
“Nobody is above the law”, President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s government said in a statement.
“Football overall in the region is going to stay steady and hopefully we will make some good choices in the future and keep CONCACAF moving forward as it should”.
One woman pleaded guilty.
Within a few days, the newly re-elected president Sepp Blatter announced that he would resign when a successor was elected. Mr Blatter is also facing Swiss criminal proceedings.
“I think (Blatter) is well aware of the nature of our charges”, Lynch said.
The indictments list a who’s who of soccer executives.
“The reason for the ban…is the indictment issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Justice for charges of racketeering, conspiracy and corruption”, Federation Internationale de Football Association said.
“According to the arrest requests, some of the offences were agreed and prepared in the USA”. Today’s action also relied on the tireless work of federal investigators and prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, in the FBI’s New York Field Office and in the Los Angeles Field Office of the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division.
It followed requests from United States authorities, with the FOJ stating that the pair are “alleged to have taken the money in return for selling marketing rights in connection with football tournaments in Latin America, as well as World Cup qualifying matches”. Hawit also was charged with attempting to obstruct the grand jury investigation by attempting in July to corruptly influence testimony before the grand jury.
Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey meanwhile said those indicted had run corrupt schemes spanning decades. They did this primarily through kickbacks from sports marketing executives.
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During this year’s Copa America, CONMEBOL said it would be forced to use a reserve fund to pay prizes and other expenses because the company that used to handle rights to the tournament had its accounts frozen as part of the US corruption investigation. Future presidents and council members will be limited to 12 years in office and face stricter integrity checks.
