Six Senior FIFA Officials Arrested Over Corruption Allegations

Six FIFA officials, including VP Jeffrey Webb, have been arrested in Zurich, Switzerland over allegations of money laundering, wire fraud and racketeering.

The arrests, carried out by Swizz authorities, were made Wednesday morning as leaders of soccer’s global governing body gathered for their annual meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter was not among those arrested.

The six will be extradited to the US where they will be arraigned in court.

There has been investigation by the FBI over allegations of widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals.

The indictment names 14 senior officials as well as the sports-marketing executives from the United States and South America, who are accused of paying more than USD150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for media deals associated with major soccer tournaments, according to one government official.

Those mentioned in the allegations include Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, José Maria Marin and Nicolás Leoz.

Sports-marketing executives Alejandro Burzaco, Aaron Davidson, Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis are also expected to face charges.