FBI behind FIFA Raid in Switzerland (Update)

Swiss Police arrested several FIFA officials on corruption charges. The arrests are the result of an FBI investigation.

FIFA, the global soccer organization has been getting a bad reputation since years about alleged rampaging corruption. Now the organization is suffering a major blow that could bring it to the brink of extinction. Swiss police arrested this morning several FIFA officials on corruption charges reports the New York Times.

The arrest was peaceful as you would expect arrests are done in Switzerland. According to a source of the New York Times the charges allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals. The charges also 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.

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter is up for re-election this week. This is why FIFA officials have gathered in Switzerland. 

CNN reports that 14 people are expected to be charged based on an indictment in federal court in New York today. The arrests are the result of a 3 year FBI investigation. As the United States is not one of the top soccer countries, it is remarkable that they are the ones coming down on FIFA.

Swiss Blick reports that the charged FIFA officials include Jeffrey Webb von den Cayman Islands, Eugenio Figueredo from Uruguay, Jack Warner from Trinidad and Tobago, Eduardo Li from Costa Rica.

Update:

The names of the arrested FIFA officials have been revealed by the US Justice Department. Besides the already named Jeffrey Webb, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, are Jolio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Eugenio Figueredo, Rafael Esquivel, Jose Maria Marin and Nicolas Leoz.

A 47-count indictment was unsealed early this morning in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses, in connection with the defendants’ participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer.  The guilty pleas of four individual defendants and two corporate defendants were also unsealed today.

The International Federation of Association Football or International Federation of Soccer (FIFA is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organization of football’s major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women’s World Cup which commenced in 1991.

FIFA was founded in 1904 and Sepp Blatter is its 8th President. He took the helm in 1998 and is now just up for his 5th term if he gets reelected.