Soccer officials arrested
May have been involved in bribes
ZURICH – The U.S. Justice Department is expected to bring federal corruption charges against as many as 14 high-ranking members of world soccer’s governing body, following a three-year FBI investigation that could cripple Sepp Blatter’s run for a fifth term as FIFA president.
According to CNN, an indictment against the FIFA officials will be unsealed in a New York courtroom.
Swiss authorities, acting on the request of U.S. law enforcement, descended on a tony resort in Zurich early Wednesday to arrest several of those expected to be charged. The officials, who were attending FIFA’s annual meeting, were to be extradited to the U.S., according to The New York Times, which first reported the arrests.
The names of those charged were not released but the charges are said to include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, according to the Times. Messages left for FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer were not immediately returned.