Securities filings and other government documents indicate that a sports marketing company that was described in a sweeping indictment this month as retaining contracts because of the "support" of corrupt football officials has "longstanding ties" to U.S. entertainment company 21st Century Fox, according to Rosenberg & Ingram of REUTERS. The description of T&T Sports Marketing Ltd. in the indictment signals that U.S. prosecutors have "intensified their focus on media companies and what they might have known about any bribes, people familiar with the matter said." When prosecutors announced their corruption investigation of FIFA in May, they spoke in court papers about "an array of broadcasters and advertisers" but otherwise "did not specifically address their role." 21st Century Fox listed T&T as a subsidiary last year in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its investment in the company stretches back to '02. A Fox spokesperson said that Fox had "no operational control of T&T." The Dec. 3 indictment said that three execs "affiliated" with T&T bribed at least 15 high-level football officials to support the company's exclusive worldwide broadcasting rights for events such as the Copa Libertadores. The indictment "does not explain how T&T benefited from retaining the broadcasting contracts." T&T is not a broadcaster itself, "but by obtaining broadcasting rights, it could resell them to major broadcasters." 21st Century Fox ended up with the rights to broadcast the Copa Libertadores and other tournaments (REUTERS, 12/13). REUTERS' Michael Shields reported Swiss authorities are reviewing 133 reports of "suspicious financial activity" linked to the decisions by FIFA to let Russia and Qatar host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals. That was up from the 103 cases the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) had reported in August. An OAG spokesperson said that the suspicious activity reports came from a Swiss financial intelligence unit called the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (REUTERS, 12/14). RT reported in '09, the Netherlands and Belgium joint bidding team for the 2018 World Cup "allegedly paid a lobbyist" closely associated with a FIFA VP to gain votes. The payment would be a violation of FIFA rules "if it was in exchange for any services." The lobbyist identified by Dutch daily De Volkskrant is Amadou Diallo, a Guinean national who was on the FIFA payroll between '01 and '07. He worked under former FIFA VP Mohammed Bin Hammam. Diallo was said to have arranged bribes of $1.5M. The same Diallo "is now at the center of another bribery allegation." Based on documents Volkskrant says it has in its possession, Diallo was paid at least €10,000 by the Belgian FA in '09. The Belgian FA admits to the payment, citing it as "compensation for travel expenses and lobbying" (RT, 12/12).
