Swiss Arrest Two More FIFA Officials in Corruption Scandal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Law enforcement officials Thursday arrested two more FIFA officials suspected of taking millions of dollars in bribes, Swiss authorities said, as part of an ongoing investigation of graft at soccer's world governing body.
The two unnamed officials were taken into custody on arrest requests submitted by the US Department of Justice, Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said.
"They are being held in custody pending their extradition," an FOJ statement said. "According to the US arrest requests, they are suspected of accepting bribes of millions of dollars."
The FOJ said it would issue another statement with the names of those arrested later Thursday. FIFA's ethics committee has routinely suspended officials swept up in the probe, Reuters reported.
"The high-ranking FIFA officials 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," the FOJ said.
"According to the arrest requests, some of the offences were agreed and prepared in the USA. Payments were also processed via US banks."
Authorities have said for months they expected to level a second wave of corruption charges in soccer following US charges in May against 14 officials and sports marketing executives with paying and taking bribes.
The New York Times said in the latest action authorities were targeting current and former senior soccer officials on charges that included racketeering, money laundering and fraud. The new charges were expected to hit South and Central American soccer leaders particularly hard, the paper said.
The Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, the scene of dawn raids in May on the back of US indictments, closed its gates after a group of four people, believed to be plainclothes police, went in shortly before 6 am. (0500 GMT), a Reuters witness said.
Another group of police then went in through the rear entrance and left half an hour later. Shortly afterwards, two cars with tinted windows were seen leaving the hotel. Reporters could not see who was inside.
FIFA STATEMENT
FIFA officials routinely use the hotel, and many are in town for a meeting of FIFA's executive committee.
"FIFA became aware of the actions taken today by the US Department of Justice," the Zurich-based soccer body said in a statement.
"FIFA will continue to cooperate fully with the US investigation as permitted by Swiss law, as well as with the investigation being led by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General," it added without elaborating.
US Department of Justice officials were expected to appear at a news conference in Washington Thursday to discuss the case, people familiar with the plans said.
Swiss and US authorities are conducting parallel investigations of corruption in soccer, focusing on whether certain business contracts or the World Cup hosting rights for 2018 and 2022 were won with the help of bribery.
