FIFA was plunged into crisis on Wednesday morning after
Swiss authorities arrested six officials on corruption charges at the US
Department of Justice's request.
Vice-president Jeffrey Webb from the Cayman Islands was
among those led away by officers who carried out a dawn raid on the five star
Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich.
Fifa officials from left: Jeffrey Webb, Eduardo Li, Eugenio Figueredo, Jose Maria Marin It is understood that the president of football's world governing body, Sepp Blatter, who is standing for re-election on Friday, was not among those arrested.
The New York Times has reported that the charges include
wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, and that the United States
attorney general Loretta Lynch is due to hold a news conference later today.
In a separate move, officers raided FIFA's headquarters in
Zurich, seized electronic data and opened criminal proceedings "against
persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering
in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups," said a statement from
the Swiss attorney general.
The statement says 10 FIFA members who took part in the vote
for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia and Qatar, are to be questioned
by Swiss police. Bank documents have also been obtained from financial
institutions as part of the investigation.
The statement added: "There are also suspicions of
money laundering through Swiss bank accounts. Subsequently to today's seizure
of files, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Swiss Federal
Criminal Police will be questioning 10 persons who took part in voting on the
allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups as members of the Executive
Committee in 2010. These persons should be questioned as persons providing
information. "
Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who is standing against Blatter
in Friday's presidential election, said: "Today is a sad day for football.
"Clearly this is a developing story, the details of which are still emerging. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."
Blatter is actively lobbying for Friday's election to be
postponed, according to association sources.
In relation to the six arrests, the Swiss Federal Office of
Justice said the officials have been detained pending extradition to the United
States on suspicion of receiving bribes totalling 100 million US dollars.
As many as 15 officials are under investigation worldwide,
including the disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner from Trinidad,
according to sources.
A statement from the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said:
"The six soccer functionaries were arrested today in Zurich by the Zurich
Cantonal Police. The FOJ's arrest warrants were issued further to a request by
the US authorities.
"The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of
New York is investigating these individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of
bribes and kick-backs between the early 1990s and the present day.
"The bribery suspects - representatives of sports media
and sports promotion firms - are alleged to have been involved in schemes to
make payments to the soccer functionaries - delegates of FIFA and other
functionaries of FIFA sub-organisations - totalling more than USD 100 million.
In return, it is believed that they received media, marketing, and sponsorship
rights in connection with soccer tournaments in Latin America.
"According to the US request, these crimes were agreed
and prepared in the US, and payments were carried out via US banks."
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