A campaign of arrests of FIFA officials on corruption charges
u0627u0644u0641u0633u0627u062f u064au0636u0631u0628 u0641u064au063au0627 u0641u064a u0639u0647u062f u0628u0644u0627u062au0631 u0645u062cu062fu062fu0627u064b
date of publication :
Thursday
12:00 2015-5-28
Commenting on the arrest of persons from the International Federation of Football Associations in connection with the corruption case, the Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice indicated in a statement that the six activists were arrested in Zurich by the Zurich Cantonal Police, according to arrest warrants issued by the American authorities.
And the ministry continued by saying that the Office of the Attorney General in the Eastern District of New York is investigating a case related to the detainees accepting bribes and rewards during a period ranging from the beginning of the ninth decade of the last century until today, while sources told CNN that among the detainees were FIFA Vice President Jeffrey Webb.
The statement did not mention the names of those arrested, but it pointed out that the suspicions relate to their receiving that money from representatives of sports media and companies amounting to one hundred million dollars related to marketing and sponsorship of football tournaments in South America, but the arrest warrant was issued in America due to the agreement on bribery over land. American, and used American banks to transfer money.
It is expected that the number of officials who will be charged is regarding 14.
Some of these officials have been arrested in Zurich, where FIFA meetings to choose the next FIFA president will be held tomorrow.
The sources stated that Sepp Blatter, the current president of FIFA, and the candidate for a fifth term, is not on the list of accused, but the list includes a group of his close associates.
The identities of the officials who have been charged have not been revealed, following an investigation led by the FBI for three years.
Suspicions have always surrounded the International Federation, and a large number of its officials have been implicated in suspicions of corruption, but FIFA has always denied such accusations, the latest of which was last December, when the FIFA Ethics Committee announced the closure of an investigation into suspicions of corruption in the process of awarding each of Russia Qatar was honored to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. The committee concluded that it did not find any evidence proving the involvement of a FIFA official in such suspicions.
However, the FBI was not ready to stop yet, especially following the announcement of Michael Garcia, who was charged with investigating corruption cases within FIFA, to withdraw from his responsibility and distance himself from the findings of the FIFA Ethics Committee.
For his part, His Highness Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein – who is competing with Sepp Blatter for the presidency of the International Federation – said that he was saddened by the events of this corruption scandal.
And Prince Ali issued a brief statement yesterday, in which he said: This is a sad day for football. “It is not appropriate to comment at this time,” he added.
