FIFA Officials Arrested for Corruption

Federal prosecutors have indicted "two generations of soccer officials" on corruption charges.

According to the 47-count federal indictment, the prosecutors charged 14 defendants with " racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery, among other offenses, in connection with a near quarter-century scheme to enrich themselves through their management of the sport," USA TODAY Sports reported.

"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States," U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. "It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable.''

Nine of the defendants were FIFA officials and five were corporate executives. Seven of the suspects were arrested at the annual FIFA Congress in Zurich. One of them was FIFA Vice President Jeffrey Webb, who is also the president of CONCACAF, which is a confederation that includes North and Central America and the Caribbean. The other defendants were Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, Julio Rocha of Nicaragua, Costas Takkas of Britain, Rafael Esquivel of Venezuela and Jose Maria Martin of Brazil.

The Justice Department is accusing the suspects of "conspiring to solicit and receive well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for their official support of the sports marketing executives who agreed to make the unlawful payments."

If found guilty, all seven can face up to 20 years in prison.

FIFA president, Sepp Blatter was allegedly not involved in the corruption scandal.

"Today's announcement should send a message that enough is enough," said Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie. "After decades of what the indictment alleges to be brazen corruption, organized international soccer needs a new start - a new chance for its governing institutions to provide honest oversight and support of a sport that is beloved across the world, increasingly so here in the United States. Let me be clear: this indictment is not the final chapter in our investigation."

Swiss police are also questioning 10 FIFA executive committee members, who were involved with the World Cup votes in December 2010. Their investigation is against "persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering."

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has confiscated computers and documents from FIFA's offices in Zurich. Swiss prosecutors noted that they are working with U.S. authorities even though their World Cup investigation is separate.

Both investigators believe that the alleged brides were agreed to and conducted within the U.S. with payments made with U.S. banks.

"FIFA welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any wrongdoing in football," the governing body on international soccer said.

FIFA has been dealing with corruption accusations for some time. The association stated that the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments will still take place in Russia and Qatar, respectively.