Even as Fifa tries to clean up its act, fresh arrests rock the body
Even as Fifa tries to clean up its act, fresh arrests rock the body
The unprecedented corruption scandal engulfing Fifa widened Thursday with the arrests of two more top officials in another dramatic dawn raid at a luxury hotel in Zurich.
Swiss authorities again acted on a request from the US justice department, a repeat of the sweeping arrests in May that set off the scandal which has shaken world football’s governing body to its core.
A source inside Fifa, who requested anonymity, said the two officials targeted were South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) president Juan Angel Napout, and Alfredo Hawit, head of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
Both are suspected of taking millions of dollars in bribes in return for selling marketing rights for major regional tournaments in Latin America and World Cup qualifying matches, the Swiss Justice ministry said.
The arrests were carried out at the five-star Baur au Lac hotel, a favourite of Fifa’s officials, and the same spot where seven top football executives were arrested in May on suspicion of involvement in tens of millions of dollars of corruption dating back decades.
The New York Times, which broke the news of the fresh arrests, said Swiss authorities descended on the hotel at around 6 am (5 am GMT).
Swiss officials have not confirmed the identities of the newest suspects, but said they would do so by day’s end.
The arrests were the latest in a series of actions targeting Fifa’s senior leadership. The body’s long-time president Sepp Blatter, the subject of criminal investigation in Switzerland, has been suspended for 90-days and is facing tougher punishment by Fifa’s internal ethics watchdog.
The man who had been tipped to succeed him at a special election in February, European football chief Michel Platini, has also been suspended and could be hit with a lifetime ban from football by the end of the month.
As the latest suspects were taken into custody, Fifa’s remaining leadership was set for a second day of crucial meetings on approving a reform package aimed at repairing world football’s tainted global image. Fifa said it would press ahead with that meeting. In a statement, Fifa also said it was “aware of the actions taken today by the US Department of Justice.”
NYT cited several law enforcement officials as saying that the US Justice Department would unseal indictments in the case later on Thursday.
