America has successfully bashed global banks. Last year it wrung $9 billion out of BNP Paribas for knowingly processing through New York transfers that violated sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Sudan. It has clobbered HSBC for its facilitation of Mexican money-laundering. American prosecutors are unusually creative, using a different law when the one that appears most relevant lacks teeth. But when it comes to bribery, is America sometimes a bit too audacious?http://econ.st/1dSgmX4
America has successfully bashed global banks. Last year it wrung $9 billion out of BNP Paribas for knowingly processing through New York transfers that violated sanctions against Iran, Cuba and Sudan. It has clobbered HSBC for its facilitation of Mexican money-laundering. American prosecutors are unusually creative, using a different law when the one that appears most relevant lacks teeth. But when it comes to bribery, is America sometimes a bit too audacious?http://econ.st/1dSgmX4
Free to read: 'The most striking thing about the raid by the Zurich cantonal police at the Baur au Lac hotel at 6am on Wednesday is who sought it.'
Free to read: 'The most striking thing about the raid by the Zurich cantonal police at the Baur au Lac hotel at 6am on Wednesday is who sought it.'
震撼足壇！ 國際足協被控收賄46億 14人被起訴
國際足協前副主席沃納（Jack Warner）。（路透社）
〔即時新聞／綜合報導〕國際足協大地震，國際足球總會（FIFA）宣布，「暫時」將11名在美國面臨貪污指控的高級幹部停職，另外，更震撼的消息是，其中涉貪被美國起訴的國際足協前副主席沃納（Jack Warner），當地時間週三也在千里達和多巴哥自首。
被起訴的國際足總高層人士。（路透社）
外媒報導，美國司法部長林奇（Loretta Lynch）週三揭露，2011年因賄賂醜聞辭職72歲的沃納涉貪，收賄1000萬美元（約台幣3億元），選定南非主辦2010年世界盃。
司法當局週三發出拘捕令和引渡引渡要求後，沃納隨即前往首都西班牙港一間警署自首，獲准已250萬美元保釋。
媒體報導，造成國際足壇大地震的人事案是由國際足總紀律委員會下令，裁判小組主席艾克特（Hans-Joachim Eckert）說：「因為指控情節嚴重，且直接與足總有關，所以足總不得不採取迅速和直接的行動。」，據了解，就在足總宣佈人事案之前數小時，有7名足總高幹在蘇黎世一家旅館被捕，美國指控他們和其他7名足總幹部收取超過1億5000萬（約台幣46億美元）的賄賂。
林奇表示，司法部重起調查足總內部腐敗情形，犯案期間可以追溯到1991年，最新一波起訴14名相關被告，起訴書載明，涉案被告的收賄犯行，包括申辦2010年世界盃，2011年國際足聯大選，及明年的美洲盃賽事場地等。
Fifa scandal: Why the US is policing a global game
- 27 May 2015
- US & Canada
America does not even like football, or so many people think. Why is it leading the charge against alleged Fifa corruption?
At dawn, Swiss police rounded up seven Fifa officials at the behest of US authorities who have conducted a massive investigation into corruption at football's governing body.
So how did a country where football is more niche than entrenched come to police the world's beautiful game?
"Too many countries are cowed by Fifa," said Alexandra Wrage, a former Fifa anti-bribery adviser who resigned in protest from the organisation.
"As with international bribery more generally, the US Department of Justice has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't," she said.
How can the US police a global game?
Speaking to reporters just hours after the arrests in Switzerland, FBI Director James Comey set out why the US was able to act.
"If you touch our shores with your corrupt enterprise, whether that is through meetings or through using our world class financial system, you will be held accountable for that corruption," he said.
As it turns out, the US charges accuse many of those football officials of doing both.
To prosecute cases that involve foreign nationals, US authorities need only prove a minor connection to the United States.
But in the case of the charges made public on Wednesday, the alleged corruption hit right at the heart of the game in the US.
Fifa and the confederations under it make money by selling the marketing and media rights to the World Cup and other tournaments that they organise.
The charges largely relate to "the systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks" that were paid by marketing executives who wanted to increase their chances at winning contracts for the rights to market and sell media access to tournaments.
These bribes were at times organised during meetings in the US, and some of the money was transferred through US bank accounts.
What sparked the US investigation?
At a news conference on Wednesday, the acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kelly Currie, noted the scale of the allegations.
"This sort of bribery and corruption in international soccer has been going on for two decades. Our investigation...that itself took years," he said.
It is not clear what specific event - if any - prompted the US investigation. Some have pointed to the United States' failed bid in late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes were paid to encourage votes for Qatar.
"I know some people who were in the US bidding committee... They all had really strong suspicions that somebody was getting bought off," said Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. He told the BBC that he suspected the justice department likely got involved following the failed bid.
The choice of Qatar raised suspicions in part because of the extremely high temperatures it experiences during the summer months - a fact that prompted a Fifa taskforce to recommend the games be played in November and December rather than the usual June-July timeframe.
In the hours after the dawn arrests, Swiss authorities said they were opening a separate investigation relating to the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
How deep are the US ties to the case?
The Miami offices of Concacaf, the football federation under Fifa that governs the game in North and Central America and the Caribbean, were raided by FBI agents early on Wednesday.
Two of the people who have been charged - Jeffrey Webb and Jack Warner - are the current and past heads of Concacaf, respectively.
It is not clear what specifically the authorities are looking for in these raids, but many of the charges that were revealed today involve bribery and kickback schemes.
These schemes are related to the media and marketing rights for World Cup qualifying games in the Concacaf region, as well as the Concacaf Gold Cup, the Concacaf Champions League, and several others.
The Copa America, which is set to be held for the first time outside of South America in 2016 when it will be played in the US, was highlighted for the corruption that surrounds it.
"Our investigation revealed that what should have been an expression of international sportsmanship was used as a vehicle in this broader scheme to line executives' pockets with bribes totalling $110 million [£71m], nearly a third of the legitimate cost of the rights to the tournaments involved," US Attorney General Lynch said during a news conference detailing the charges.
Concacaf has been in trouble in the past.
In 2012 Concacaf turned itself into US tax authorities and admitted to not paying taxes for several years.
Among those at the helm of the organisation was secretary general Chuck Blazer, who also served as a Fifa executive committee member.
It was also revealed on Wednesday that in 2013 he pleaded guilty to several charges related to corruption.
Just months ago, the New York Daily News reported that Mr Blazer has been working as an informant for US authorities.
The newspaper said that he met with football officials on the sidelines of the 2012 Olympics in London, and used a hidden microphone on a keychain to gather intelligence.
This report has not been independently confirmed. Officials say the corruption investigation is on-going.
"Nobody is above or beyond the law," FBI Director Comey said. "We will not stop until we send messages that this is not the way things should be and that they must be different".
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