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 plainclothes 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 room numbers and then proceeded upstairs.The arrests were carried out peacefully. 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, backed by an F.B.I. investigation, allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals.Several hours after the soccer officials were apprehended at the hotel, Swiss authorities said they had opened criminal cases related to the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups — incidents that, more than any others, encapsulated FIFA’s unusual power dynamic. “In the course of said proceedings,” the Swiss officials said, “electronic data and documents were seized today at FIFA’s head office in Zurich.”
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
FIFA = Racketeering Enterprise?
That's what the Eastern District of NY is alleging in this sweeping indictment against nine FIFA executives. The NY Times has this front page coverage:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I cannot believe Stepp Blatter was not charged and arrested.
BTW - John Oliver has done great work exposing FIFA corruption
It's about time.
CONCACAF offices in Miami are being raided in connection with the FIFA investigation (There is always a SoFla connection).
I hear DOM's phone ringing!!!
Can someone explain to me how paying a private entity to do something you want is "bribery" or "corruption"? Or why there should be any requirement that a private entity be transparent about its for-profit affairs? It's not even like they sell a necessary commodity like wheat or water that the consuming public has a real interest in. FIFA sells soccer and/or entertainment services. What is the public policy that justifies our government spending resources pursuing criminal charges here?
btw...before the internet trolls attack, I'm not saying there isn't a reason for this, I'm saying that I don't see it. Feel free to enlighten me.
Read the indictment, specifically paragraphs 72 and 73 and you will see the impact of the fraud-both depriving the entities these fiduciaries served of their honest services, as well as defrauding the federations of the sums they were entitled to,Fifa, and the various confederations and the national associations were the victims--every bit as much as a domestic commercial bribery scheme defrauds either the fraudster's company or the company he's dealing with--the indictment alleges wire fraud, money laundering , transaction structuring , obstruction of justice,individual tax evasion etc You don't have to be dealing with a public entity to commit these crimes...Fifa doesn't have to be "transparent" but its officers and employees are required to comply with the laws governing the commerce they engage in..
Why do we care? What if FIFA and it's president were aware of these benefits and considered them to be among the perks of being in the position to command the bribes?
But really...who gives a shit?
The resources could be better spent prosecuting the New England Patriots and Bill Bellicheat.
It's = it is. Its = possessive.
Post a Comment