The Justice Department has unveiled a sweeping corruption indictment against 14 soccer officials and marketing executives accused of exchanging $150 million in bribes and “corrupt[ing] the business of worldwide soccer.” Among those arrested in connection with the probe is Jack Warner, former vice president of soccer’s governing body, FIFA, who is accused of taking a $10 million bribe to cast his ballot for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the corruption dates back to at least 1991, when soccer officials, including the then-presidents of two regional soccer confederations under FIFA, solicited bribes from sports marketers for commercial rights to their soccer tournaments. The indictment Lynch unsealed features 47 counts, including racketeering charges typically reserved for drug cartels and the Mafia.
Loretta Lynch: “The 47-count indictment against these individuals includes charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies spanning two decades. In short, these individuals, through these organizations, engaged in bribery to decide who would televise games, where the games would be held and who would run the organization overseeing organized soccer worldwide, one of the most popular sports around the globe.”
Longtime FIFA President Sepp Blatter is not named in the indictment, and Lynch declined to comment on whether he is under investigation.