An unnamed company described in a "sweeping probe of corruption" in FIFA "matches the description of a close affiliate of Grupo Televisa," the "largest" broadcaster in Latin America, according to Mica Rosenberg of REUTERS. In court papers filed on Tuesday, U.S. prosecutors said that "an affiliate of a major broadcasting company headquartered in Latin America helped to pay millions of dollars in bribes to obtain the rights for the next four World Cup tournaments in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay." The affiliate is Mountrigi Management Group Ltd., a Swiss company formed by Televisa that obtained the rights to broadcast the '18 and '22 games in those countries and across the region. Swiss company registration documents show that "Mountrigi and Televisa are registered in that country under the same address and share several board members." The court documents do not state that either the companies or their execs are "targets of the investigation." Neither company "has been charged with wrongdoing." A Televisa spokesperson said in an email, "We have no knowledge it refers to us." The reference marks "the first time a Mexican company has come under scrutiny by U.S. prosecutors in the sweeping FIFA investigation" (REUTERS, 12/16).
