A new mystery "has emerged in the U.S. government’s case against corruption in soccer’s global governing body FIFA: the whereabouts of three Argentine and one Brazilian sports executives who allegedly played key roles in a suspected" $110M bribery scheme, according to Turner & Perez of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Sources said that the "most influential is Alejandro Burzaco, who led Argentina’s biggest sports-marketing company, Torneos, and is a key player in Argentine soccer, with close ties to top politicians, soccer stars and the national soccer association." Burzaco "issued his last public statement on Twitter on May 26, saying he was on his way to Zurich to attend FIFA meetings. A source said that Burzaco "was in contact with his lawyers." The attorneys, however, "didn’t return calls for comment." Buenos Aires-based Torneos on Wednesday night fired Burzaco as CEO & Chair, saying that it was "conducting an internal investigation aided by external legal advisers from the U.S. and Argentina." Torneos, whose "biggest shareholder is California-based DirecTV, is a powerhouse in South American sports." Full Play Group Controlling Principals Hugo and Mariano Jinkis are the "other Argentine executives." In its indictment, the Justice Department said that Burzaco and the two Jinkis men "agreed with an unnamed co-conspirator to pay" $110M in bribes to "top officials in South America’s soccer federation -- who are also all FIFA executives -- for the rights to broadcast Copa America soccer championships between now" and '23 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/5).
TEIXEIRA MARKED: The GUARDIAN's Owen Gibson notes the FBI's investigation into FIFA "widened further" to include the organization of the '14 World Cup in Brazil. With the FBI "examining links between disgraced former Brazilian football chief Ricardo Teixeira and embattled FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke, the investigation now encompasses three of the past five World Cups and the controversial award of the next two tournaments in Russia and Qatar." Teixeira, who "was head of the Brazil 2014 organising committee until he fled for Miami" in '12, "was not among those charged in last week’s damning US Department of Justice indictment." Investigators "are thought to be focusing on more than 1,000 documents signed by World Cup organisers in the runup to the tournament" (GUARDIAN, 6/5).
MIAMI VICE: The FINANCIAL TIMES' Gina Chon examines the role of Delta National Bank & Trust Company and reports FIFA "at times made up almost a quarter of all deposits" at the bank's Miami branch. Delta "was used by Traffic International, the sports media company through which Brazilian businessman" and Traffic Owner & Founder José Hawilla allegedly paid at least $60M "in bribes to FIFA officials in exchange for sponsorships and TV rights" to soccer games. Now that relationship "is dragging Delta, a niche bank whose Miami branch is less than a mile from Traffic’s U.S. office, into the global scandal surrounding the world’s most popular sport and highlighting the broader investigation into the banks used by suspects in the investigation" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/5).
