Multiple FIFA Officials Arrested and Facing Extradition to U.S.A.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Ray Parlour > Multiple FIFA Officials Arrested and Facing Extradition to U.S.A.

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

New York Times posted:

FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges; Face Extradition to U.S.
By MATT APUZZO, MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and SAM BORDENMAY 26, 2015

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.

The case is the most significant yet for United States Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who took office last month. She previously served as the United States attorney in Brooklyn, where she supervised the FIFA investigation. Ms. Lynch and F.B.I. Director James Comey were expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday morning in New York.

With more than $1.5 billion in reserves, FIFA is as much a global financial conglomerate as a sports organization. With countries around the world competing aggressively to win the bid to host the World Cup, Mr. Blatter has commanded the fealty of anyone who wanted a piece of that revenue stream. He and FIFA have weathered corruption controversies in the past, but none involved charges of federal crimes in United States court.

United States law gives the Justice Department wide authority to bring cases against foreign nationals living abroad, an authority that prosecutors have used repeatedly in international terrorism cases. Those cases can hinge on the slightest connection to the United States, like the use of an American bank or Internet service provider.

Switzerland�s treaty with the United States is unusual in that it gives Swiss authorities the power to refuse extradition for tax crimes, but on matters of general criminal law, the Swiss have agreed to turn people over for prosecution in American courts.

The case further mars the reputation of FIFA�s leader, Mr. Blatter, who has for years acted as a de facto head of state. Politicians, star players, national soccer officials and global corporations that want their brands attached to the sport have long genuflected before him.

Critics of FIFA point to the lack of transparency regarding executive salaries and resource allocations for an organization that, by its own admission, had revenue of $5.7 billion from 2011 to 2014. Policy decisions are also often taken without debate or explanation, and a small group of officials � known as the executive committee � operates with outsize power. FIFA has for years operated with little oversight and even less transparency. Alexandra Wrage, a governance consultant who once unsuccessfully attempted to help overhaul FIFA�s methods, famously labeled the organization �byzantine and impenetrable.�

Law enforcement officials said much of the inquiry involves Concacaf, one of the six regional confederations that compose FIFA. Concacaf � which stands for Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football � includes major countries like the United States and Mexico, and also tiny ones like Barbados and Montserrat.
Photo

Concacaf was led from 1990 to 2011 by Mr. Warner, the longtime head of Trinidad & Tobago�s federation. A key powerbroker in FIFA�s governing executive committee, Mr. Warner had been dogged by accusations of corruption. He was accused of illegally profiting from the resale of tickets to the 2006 World Cup, and of withholding the bonuses of the Trinidad players who participated in that tournament.

Mr. Warner resigned his positions in FIFA, Concacaf and his national association in 2011 amid mounting evidence that he had been part of an attempt to buy the votes of Caribbean federation officials in the 2010 FIFA presidential election. A 2013 Concacaf report also found that he had received tens of millions of dollars in misappropriated funds.

But according to the rules of FIFA at the time, Mr. Warner�s resignation led to the immediate closure of all ethics committee cases against him. �The presumption of innocence is maintained,� FIFA said in a short statement announcing his departure.

No recent incident better encapsulated FIFA�s unusual power dynamic than the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, which many observers found to be flawed from the start: the decision to award two tournaments at once, critics said, would invite vote-trading and other inducements.

Since only the 24 members of the executive committee would decide on the hosts, persuading even a few of them might be enough to swing the vote. Even before the vote took place, two committee members � Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti � were suspended after an investigation by The Sunday Times caught both men on tape asking for payments in exchange for their support. It was later revealed by England�s bid chief that four ExCo members had solicited bribes from him for their votes; one asked for $2.5 million, while another, Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay, requested a knighthood.

As new accounts of bribery continued to emerge � a whistleblower who worked for the Qatar bid team claimed that several African officials were paid $1.5 million each to support Qatar � FIFA in 2012 started an investigation of the bid process. It was led by a former United States attorney, Michael J. Garcia, who spent nearly two years compiling a report. That report, however, has never been made public; instead, the top judge on the ethics committee, the German Joachim Eckert, released a summary of the report. In it, he declared that while violations of the code of ethics had occurred, they had not affected the integrity of the vote.

Within hours, Garcia had criticised Eckert�s summary as incorrect and incomplete, charging that it contained �numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts.� Nonetheless, FIFA moved quickly to embrace the report�s absolution of the bid process. Qatar World Cup officials said the review had upheld �the integrity and quality of our bid,� And Russia�s sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, told reporters, �I hope we will not have talk about this again.�

This seems like a pretty big deal. If their extradition goes through these guys are unlikely to get a particularly sympathetic audience in the United States since it's pretty much the only country on the planet where soccer isn't the national sport.

# ? May 27, 2015 06:48

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 26, 2024 14:46

CubanMissile: Apr 22, 2003; Of Hulks and Spider-Men

Even if nothing else happens, I'm pretty stoked about this.

# ? May 27, 2015 06:59

Chamale: Jul 11, 2010; I'm helping!

I was very surprised by the news that several important members of the most corrupt international organization in existence have been arrested for corruption. Surprised, and delighted. gently caress those guys for taking bribes to host a tournament in a hellhole, leading to the deaths of 4,000 slaves.

# ? May 27, 2015 07:01

Space Jam: Jul 22, 2008

E: wrong thread

# ? May 27, 2015 07:01

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Chamale posted:

I was very surprised by the news that several important members of the most corrupt international organization in existence have been arrested for corruption. Surprised, and delighted. gently caress those guys for taking bribes to host a tournament in a hellhole, leading to the deaths of 4,000 slaves.

Counterpoint: It's the U.S. doing the indicting and it's related to soccer.

# ? May 27, 2015 07:02

Chamale: Jul 11, 2010; I'm helping!

ALL-PRO SEXMAN posted:

Counterpoint: It's the U.S. doing the indicting and it's related to soccer.

Are the FIFA officials considered not rich enough to be above the law in America, or are there different rules if your wealth comes from soccer?

# ? May 27, 2015 07:16

NickRoweFillea: Sep 27, 2012; doin thangs

USA BRINGING FREEDOM TO FIFA

EVERY KICK IS A FREE KICK WHEN YOU PLAY FOR THE USA

# ? May 27, 2015 07:17

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Chamale posted:

Are the FIFA officials considered not rich enough to be above the law in America, or are there different rules if your wealth comes from soccer?

I'd expect the traditional American ambivalence to both soccer and foreigners to cancel out their megabucks, but who knows?

EDIT: To put it another way, only Americans are allowed to commit this level of fraud on American soil.

Vincent Van Goatse fucked around with this message at 07:34 on May 27, 2015

# ? May 27, 2015 07:25

swickles: Aug 21, 2006; I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just some QB that I used to know

Hey cool, a news story that can bring me into The Ray Parlour. I think its my first time, I hear its nice.

Also, as someone who has been following the Qatar stuff pretty closely, but doesn't know much about how FIFA works, what are the odds this actually leads to the Cup being moved elsewhere? Like, this seems like a big deal, at least in terms of gutting a majority if the FIFA leadership, but will "new management" just say it is what it is and be more transparent from here on out, or will they declare all the actions of the previous leadership null and void?

# ? May 27, 2015 07:30

Vegetable: Oct 22, 2010

Literally nothing is going to change unless the US finds a way to throw Blatter into prison.

# ? May 27, 2015 07:32

Byolante: Mar 23, 2008; by Cyrano4747

Vegetable posted:

Literally nothing is going to change unless the US finds a way to throw Blatter into prison.

That won't change anything either. The most likely thing to cause change is Prince Ali of Jordan becoming president and moving it due to religious hatred/ISIS funding

# ? May 27, 2015 07:43

Jombo: Feb 20, 2009

I'm thinking there aren't many members of FIFA sleeping easy tonight

# ? May 27, 2015 07:51

MysticalMachineGun: Apr 5, 2005

Guardian has live coverage here: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/may/27/fifa-officials-arrested-on-corruption-charges-live

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people.

# ? May 27, 2015 08:00

straight up brolic: Jan 31, 2007; After all, I was nice in ball,
Came to practice weed scented
Report card like the speed limit

I dont get why people that dont give a poo poo about football care about this?

# ? May 27, 2015 08:14

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

straight up brolic posted:

I dont get why people that dont give a poo poo about football care about this?

Because America.

# ? May 27, 2015 08:19

Kwagga: Jun 11, 2002; I am small

straight up brolic posted:

I dont get why people that dont give a poo poo about football care about this?

Americans are narcissistic and love it when they're being talked about

# ? May 27, 2015 08:22

Nostalgia4Butts: Jun 1, 2006; WHERE MY HOSE DRINKERS AT

straight up brolic posted:

I dont get why people that dont give a poo poo about football care about this?

John Oliver told me they were mean

# ? May 27, 2015 08:23

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Kwagga posted:

Americans are narcissistic and love it when they're being talked about

We also hate it when foreigners commit multi-million dollar fraud on our soil without having the decency to pay us off.

# ? May 27, 2015 08:24

Vegetable: Oct 22, 2010

We don't need two threads for this story

# ? May 27, 2015 08:25

Feels Villeneuve: Oct 7, 2007; Setter is Better.

Is this like the US Soccer thread safespace but for corruption

# ? May 27, 2015 08:35

El Hefe: Oct 31, 2006; You coulda had a V8/
Instead of a tre-eight slug to yo' cranium/
I got six and I'm aimin' 'em/
Will I bust or keep you guessin'

A second thread has hit the forums

# ? May 27, 2015 08:39

MaoistBanker: Sep 11, 2001; For Sound Financial Pranning!

USA receives a permanent bye into the knockout stage under the reorganized FIFA.

# ? May 27, 2015 08:39

NickRoweFillea: Sep 27, 2012; doin thangs

# ? May 27, 2015 08:44

NickRoweFillea: Sep 27, 2012; doin thangs

Kwagga posted:

Americans are narcissistic and love it when they're being talked about

yea boy, i love to jingoismpost

# ? May 27, 2015 08:46

Bape Culture: Sep 13, 2006

I can't believe there'd be corruption at Fifa?!?!)??!!!

# ? May 27, 2015 08:55

Bobby Digital: Sep 4, 2009

MaoistBanker posted:

USA receives a permanent bye into the knockout stage under the reorganized FIFA.

Hell, if we manage to indict Blatter we should get to keep the trophy. Eternal champions of the foot.

Also we get Brazil's trophy.

# ? May 27, 2015 08:59

Loving Africa Chaps: Dec 3, 2007; We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

swickles posted:

Hey cool, a news story that can bring me into The Ray Parlour. I think its my first time, I hear its nice.

Also, as someone who has been following the Qatar stuff pretty closely, but doesn't know much about how FIFA works, what are the odds this actually leads to the Cup being moved elsewhere? Like, this seems like a big deal, at least in terms of gutting a majority if the FIFA leadership, but will "new management" just say it is what it is and be more transparent from here on out, or will they declare all the actions of the previous leadership null and void?

FIFA have said they'd move it if there was direct evidence of corruption but then proceeded to cover up every report. If people actually go to jail for being bribed that is a bit more stark but I suspect they will say its politically motivated.

# ? May 27, 2015 09:30

Kwagga: Jun 11, 2002; I am small

Can we close this thread and contain the discussion in the other, more established thread?

# ? May 27, 2015 10:51

PST: Jul 5, 2012; If only Milliband had eaten a vegan sausage roll instead of a bacon sandwich, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Loving Africa Chaps posted:

FIFA have said they'd move it if there was direct evidence of corruption but then proceeded to cover up every report. If people actually go to jail for being bribed that is a bit more stark but I suspect they will say its politically motivated.

Russia destroyed their hard drives you see, so that proves they couldn't have done anything wrong. And the Qatari bribing people to give the world cup to Qatr was acting on his own and not at all in league with the officials saying to 'shred everything' when they found out they were getting investigated.

# ? May 27, 2015 10:53

Malloc Voidstar: May 7, 2007; Fuck the cowboys. Unf. Fuck em hard.

straight up brolic posted:

I dont get why people that dont give a poo poo about football care about this?

some people don't like slavery

# ? May 27, 2015 11:02

Byolante: Mar 23, 2008; by Cyrano4747

Aleksei Vasiliev posted:

some people don't like slavery

If Americans don't like slavery they should start with the prison industrial complex

# ? May 27, 2015 11:18

Jombo: Feb 20, 2009

Aleksei Vasiliev posted:

some people don't like slavery

probably the slaves

# ? May 27, 2015 11:29

Grouchio: Aug 31, 2014

Byolante posted:

That won't change anything either. The most likely thing to cause change is Prince Ali of Jordan becoming president and moving it due to religious hatred/ISIS funding

Still better than nothing but I'll take it. Then again, can't we start assassinating these 'too big to fail' corrupt officials if we can't prosecute them?

# ? May 27, 2015 11:34

Dunban: Jul 4, 2012; OH MY GOD GLOVER

gas this thread, ban OP

# ? May 27, 2015 11:36

Sneaks McDevious: Jul 29, 2010; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Dunban posted:

gas this thread, ban OP

# ? May 27, 2015 11:45

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 26, 2024 14:46

fat greasy puto: Dec 30, 2001; Anime Lover David Beckham

Dunban posted:

gas this thread, ban OP

# ? May 27, 2015 12:27

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Ray Parlour > Multiple FIFA Officials Arrested and Facing Extradition to U.S.A.