MAMBO yametibuka ndani ya Shirikisho la soka la dunia (FIFA) baada ya maofisa usalama wa Uswisi kudaka maofisa kadhaa wa chama hicho as...
MAMBO
yametibuka ndani ya Shirikisho la soka la dunia (FIFA) baada ya maofisa usalama
wa Uswisi kudaka maofisa kadhaa wa chama hicho asubuhi ya leo na kuwapeleka Marekani kukabiliana na muziki
wa rushwa.
Wakati
viongozi wa dunia wa FIFA wakikutana kwa mkutano wao wa mwaka, zaidi ya dazeni
ya askari kanzu waliwasili bila tahadhari nkatika eneo la mkutano ndani ya
hoteli ya the Baur au Lac na kudaka
maofisa husika.
Polisi
wamesema hapakuwepo na kokoro katika ukamataji wao.
Hoteli
hiyo ya nyota tano ipo katika eneo ambalo wanaona milima ya Alps na Ziwa
Zurich.
Shirika
la Upelelezi la Marekani limekuw alikiendesha uchunguzi kw amuda mrefu kuhusu
tuhuma za ruhswa katika chama hicho kwa takribani miongo miwili.
Miongoni
mwa waliokamatwa ni Eduardo Li wa Costa Rica.
Hata
hivyo taarifa zimesema kwamba rais wa shirikisho hilo Sepp Blatter hakudakwa.
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.
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. Blatter 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.
An
election, seemingly pre-ordained to give Mr. Blatter a fifth term as president,
is scheduled for Friday. A FIFA spokesman insisted at the news conference that
Mr. Blatter was not involved in any alleged wrongdoing and that the election
would go ahead as planned.
The Department of Justice indictment names 14
people on charges including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering
conspiracy. In addition to senior soccer officials, the indictment also named
sports-marketing executives from the United States and South America who are
accused of paying more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange
for media deals associated with major soccer tournaments.
The
soccer officials charged are Mr. Li, Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack
Warner, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, José Maria Marin and
Nicolás Leoz.
“FIFA
welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any wrongdoing in
football,” the organization said in a statement.
Charges were also made against the
sports-marketing executives Alejandro Burzaco, Aaron Davidson, Hugo Jinkis and
Mariano Jinkis. Authorities also charged José Margulies as an intermediary who
facilitated illegal payments.
“The
indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both
abroad and here in the United States,” said United States Attorney General
Loretta E. Lynch.
The
Justice Department built its case with help from a former FIFA executive, Chuck
Blazer, who secretly pleaded guilty in federal court in 2013. Mr. Blazer
forfeited $1.9 million when he entered his guilty plea and agreed to make a
second payment at sentencing.
The
case is the most significant yet for Ms. 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 scheduled to hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning in
Brooklyn.
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.
Jack Warner, a former
FIFA vice president, is among those expected to face charges in the United
States. Credit Luis Acosta/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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.
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
functioned with little oversight and even less transparency. Alexandra Wrage, a
governance consultant who once unsuccessfully attempted to help overhaul FIFA’s
methods, 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.
According
to the indictment, several international soccer events were tainted by bribes
and kickbacks involving media and marketing rights: World Cup qualifiers in the
Concacaf region; the Gold Cup, a regional championship tournament; the Concacaf
Champions League; the Copa América; and the South American club championship,
the Copa Libertadores. The indictment also claims that bribes and kickbacks
were found in connection with the selection of the host country for the 2010
World Cup.
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.
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