Interpol has added two FIFA execs and four corporate execs to its "most wanted" list after they were indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges including racketeering and corruption, according to Philippe Naughton of the LONDON TIMES. Two of the men, former FIFA VP Jack Warner and former FIFA ExCo member Nicolas Leoz, have been "arrested in their home countries." Warner has "since been released" and Leoz is under "house arrest." The Interpol "red notice" does not amount to an int'l arrest warrant but "means the men are at a greater risk of arrest anywhere they travel." Others listed by Interpol were Alejandro Burzaco and Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, from Argentina, who together are "accused of paying" more than $100M in bribes for media and commercial rights to football tournaments, and Brazilian broadcast exec José Margulies (LONDON TIMES, 6/3). In N.Y., Dan Bilefsky reported publishing head shots of the six men on its website, Interpol said that they were "wanted 'for charges including racketeering, conspiracy and corruption.'" Red notices are issued by Interpol to "inform member nations that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual, and that Interpol is seeking 'the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action.'" But red notices are not int'l arrest warrants, and Interpol "does not have the power to compel other countries to arrest the subject of a red notice" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/3).
U.S. AT IT AGAIN: REUTERS' Hosenball & Bart reported a U.S. law enforcement official said that the FBI's investigation of alleged corruption at FIFA includes "scrutiny of how soccer's governing body awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 competition to Qatar." The official said that the review would be "part of a probe that goes beyond the allegations of bribery in a U.S. indictment of FIFA officials" announced a week ago. Among issues the FBI is "examining is the stewardship" of FIFA by its longtime President Sepp Blatter, who "unexpectedly announced on Tuesday he was resigning shortly before it emerged that he too was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement." A source close to FIFA said that it was Blatter's advisers who had "told him he must quit." Critics "pointed to the widening criminal probe, disquiet among sponsors, and pressure" from UEFA as possible reasons (REUTERS, 6/3). REUTERS' Gederts Gelzis reported U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch "declined to comment at a press conference on Wednesday" on whether Blatter is "under investigation as part of a probe by U.S. authorities." Lynch: "With respect to the FIFA investigation as was announced last week we are not able to comment further on the nature of other individuals who may or may not be under investigation. This is an ongoing matter, it is an open case, and so we will now be speaking through the courts" (REUTERS, 6/3).
BLAZER'S TRAIL: In London, Kara Scannell reported former FIFA official turned government witness Charles Blazer told a U.S. judge in '13 that he and others on FIFA's ExCo "agreed to accept bribes" to vote for South Africa to hold the 2010 World Cup. Asked if he was pleading guilty of his own free will, Blazer replied, "Totally." Blazer "is a key figure in the government's expansive corruption case" against nine FIFA officials and numerous sports marketing execs. He pleaded guilty in secret in '13 and the details became public last week when the charges "were unsealed."
The transcript of Blazer's guilty plea "was also kept as a sealed document until news organizations petitioned the court to make it public." The unsealed 40 page copy "became public on Wednesday although portions of it have been redacted" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/3). In London, Gibson & Lewis wrote Blazer, "an eccentric power broker" for U.S. football for decades, also admitted "facilitating the payment of a bribe relating to the 1998 World Cup." Last week's indictment alleges the bribe for Morocco's failed bid "was paid to Jack Warner" (GUARDIAN, 6/3).
