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       Analysts: US Prosecutors Followed the Money Trail in FIFA Scandal

   by Robert Raffaele

   The recent FIFA scandal has shaken fans and nations enamored of one of
   the world's most popular sports, soccer. U.S. charges against more than
   a dozen people focused on decades-old rumors of corruption and bribery.
   Analysts say alleged links to U.S.-based financial institutions pushed
   U.S. prosecutors to take a closer look at FIFA.

   The Justice Department indictment against 14 individuals includes
   racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges. Prosecutors say
   it was all part of a scheme that involved sports media executives
   agreeing to pay millions of dollars in exchange for marketing rights to
   FIFA tournaments.

   Former U.S. prosecutor John Malcolm said federal prosecutors had all
   the evidence they needed.

   "The U.S. financial system is a hub for a lot of transactions that take
   place around the world, so either monies were deposited into the United
   States or certainly money flowed through the United States. The
   allegations are that there were shell companies set up and nominees to
   make these payments and accept these payments, so a lot of money was
   being washed clean, money laundered through the U.S. system," said
   Malcolm.

   Malcolm said the growing lure of big sponsorship dollars is a cause of
   concern for nations trying to compete fairly both on and off the field.

   "[Soccer] is nonetheless growing in popularity in the U.S. and we
   compete and American companies compete heavily for marketing rights and
   the right to host these games. Some of the companies that have already
   pleaded guilty to corrupting this system and depriving victims of money
   that rightfully belonged to them and not into the pockets of corrupt
   officials were U.S.-based companies," Malcolm continued.

   Others point to corruption allegations involving FIFA, which awards
   each World Cup tournament to a host nation. The rejection by FIFA of
   the U.S. bid for the 2022 games, awarded to Qatar, particularly rankled
   U.S. officials, according to economist Andrew Zimbalist.

   "There was already information that people had at the time that people
   were buying votes. That the former head of soccer in Qatar, [Mohammed]
   bin Hamman, was doing some politicking and some greasing of palms for
   several years. There were already indications that there was a
   collaboration that went all the way up to Mr. Blatter," said Zimbalist.

   Zimbalist said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch wanted to make a
   strong statement about concerns over FIFA corruption in a sport in
   which the U.S. wants a bigger role.

   Zimbalist also pointed out that the U.S. has greater resources than
   many other nations to fight corruption.

   "The United States has been a world leader, we've been a sort of 'world
   policeman' if you will since World War II, and I think it's generally
   more comfortable for the United States to assume that kind of a posture
   than it is for many other countries," said Zimbalist.

   FIFA says it is cooperating with both the U.S. probe and a separate
   investigation by Switzerland into the winning bids for the 2018 and
   2022 games. Authorities in Zurich have arrested seven FIFA officials.
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   y-trail-in-fifa-scandal/2813093.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/analysts-us-prosecutors-followed-money-trail-in-fifa-scandal/2813093.html