Two more FIFA officials arrested in Switzerland on suspicion of accepting bribes
Swiss police escorted FIFA officials early this morning in Switzerland as the latest wave of arrests roll out in the seemingly never ending bribery scandal which has rocked the soccer world.
NEW & RELATED ARTICLES: FIFA GUILTY OF $200 MILLION IN BRIBES? and FIFA IS TOXIC – LOSES £67 MILLION
FIFA’s corruption scandal has erupted again after two senior officials were arrested in a pre-dawn raid of the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich on suspicion “of accepting bribes of millions of dollars”.
The luxury establishment used by FIFA officials was swooped upon for the second time this year, with the New York Times reporting that FIFA vice-presidents – Alfredo Hawit of Honduras and Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay – have been detained on orders issued by the FOJ on behalf of the US Department of Justice.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) confirmed that there had been two arrests. Further arrests are also expected in other parts of the world.
It is understood FIFA president Sepp Blatter has not been arrested as part of this latest raid.
A statement from the FOJ said: “On the instructions of the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ), a further two FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich today.
“They are being held in custody pending their extradition. According to the US arrest requests, they are suspected of accepting bribes of millions of dollars.
“The high-ranking FIFA officials are alleged to have taken the money in return for selling marketing rights in connection with football tournaments in Latin America, as well as World Cup qualifying matches.”
FIFA has acknowledged the latest controversy, saying in a statement issued to Press Association Sport: “FIFA became aware of the actions taken today by the US Department of Justice.
“FIFA will continue to co-operate fully with the US investigation as permitted by Swiss law, as well as with the investigation being led by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General.
“FIFA will have no further comment on today’s developments.”
The governing body’s executive committee is currently midway through a two-day meeting.
Hawit was appointed interim president of CONCACAF, the confederation of countries from North and Central America and the Caribbean, after his predecessor Jeffrey Webb was arrested in a similar swoop in May.
Napout is the president of CONMEBOL, the South American confederation.
The FIFA corruption scandal first broke in May when seven officials, including Webb, were arrested by Swiss authorities on behalf of the US Department of Justice, plunging football’s world governing body into the biggest meltdown in its scandal-hit history.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told Press Association Sport the latest arrests follows evidence provided by Webb to US justice authorities.
In a separate development, the Swiss attorney general also opened criminal proceedings over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and seized documents and electronic data from FIFA’s headquarters.
The twin proceedings and the subsequent revelations over the next few days led to Sepp Blatter extraordinarily announcing he would step down as FIFA president, just four days after he was re-elected for an unprecedented fifth term.
The final straw came when FIFA was forced to admit that it had paid 10million US dollars destined for the South Africa World Cup to an account controlled by the disgraced former vice-president Jack Warner.
Since then, Blatter has been provisionally suspended, pending an ethics committee hearing into a £1.3million payment made to UEFA president Michel Platini, with the pair facing possible lifetime bans.
