An internal investigation of FIFA by U.S. law firm Quinn Emanuel revealed three of its top officials last year after corruption charges "arranged over five years to pay themselves" more than $80M, the latest in a series of "jaw-dropping accusations about a culture of corruption," according to a front-page piece by Borden & Das of the N.Y. TIMES. Lawyers from Quinn Emanuel, which was hired by FIFA in the wake of last year’s arrests, on Friday "published a synopsis of some of the findings of their own investigation." In it, they "identified three former FIFA officials" -- FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Secretary General Jérôme Valcke and CFO Markus Kattner -- as "having mounted a 'coordinated effort' to enrich themselves through a series of raises, bonuses and other payments." The three were also accused of "modifying the termination clauses in their employment contracts to ensure that they would receive multimillion-dollar payouts even if they were fired for cause." Blatter's lawyer Richard Cullen said, "We look forward to showing FIFA that Mr. Blatter’s compensation payments were proper, fair and in line with the heads of major professional sports leagues around the world" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/4). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Robinson & Futterman noted the contracts, which "investigators say were previously unknown to most of the top brass at soccer’s world governing body, also allegedly show payments for" Kattner, who "was fired by FIFA last month for allegedly paying himself millions in secret bonuses." According to the contracts, Kattner "was responsible for signing off" on FIFA's "largest payments, including eight-figure bonuses that went to" Blatter. This is the "first time a full picture" of Blatter’s "alleged compensation has been publicly disclosed in his 40-year involvement with FIFA." Investigators say Blatter received $33.9M, Valcke received $33.3M and Kattner received $13.8M (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/4).
