Did the folks at FIFA anticipate that the US might make waves when it waded into world soccer?
The investigation formally launched at dawn May 27 by the new US attorney general, Loretta Lynch, could have far-reaching implications.
Perhaps Lynch was sorry to see US soccer officials start to play by the rules of the “beautiful game,” which apparently include a fair amount of palm greasing. The charges announced against 14 worldwide federation executives and assorted businessmen ran the gamut of corruption and racketeering to money laundering, and zeroed in on the extra monies paid to win the rights to host, market and broadcast games.
“They held important responsibilities at every level, from building soccer fields for children in developing countries to organizing the World Cup,” Lynch said of those indicted at a midday press conference. “They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest, and protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and enrich themselves.”
But the attorney general’s moves also speak to the increasing internationalism of enforcement of anti-corruption and other laws. Today’s indictments hinge on US laws that allow the Justice Dept. to bring cases against foreign nationals abroad if they have so much as an American bank account and can be extradited.
The other headliner recently has been the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which has garnered the SEC more than $51 million in fines so far this year alone–more than half of that from Australia-based global resources company BHP Billiton.
That’s a two-way street, by the way, with US corporations also at growing risk overseas.
