SA bribe bombshell over 2010 World Cup
Bid committee’s ‘co-conspirator #15’ linked to R120m paid to secure event
AFTER a day of arrests that tore into the heart of international soccer’s highest governing body, the question now is who is the high-ranking South African bid committee official the FBI names only as coconspirator #15.
Its indictment says the man or woman handed over a briefcase filled with $10 000 (R120 000) stacks to a high-ranking Fifa official in a Paris hotel room.
That official represented Jack Warner, the disgraced former Fifa vice-president and executive committee member and the president of Concacaf (the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) who resigned from all soccer positions in June 2011 after Fifa’s ethics committee opened proceedings concerning at least three corruption and bribery charges.
Last night, US attorney-general Loretta Lynch said the investigation that had resulted in yesterday’s arrest of 14 Fifa officials – including Warner – was just at the beginning. She did not say who #15 was or if his or her arrest was pending.
The 164-page indictment, which does not name any South Africans, alleges that South Africa sought to pay Warner, who held a powerful block of Caribbean votes, in exchange for his support of the country’s 2010 World Cup bid.
The Presidency declined to comment last night and the Sports Ministry said it would respond today. SA Football Association spokesman Dominic Chimhavi said the claims were “baseless and untested”.
Warner and his co-accused have been charged with racketeering, wire fraud and moneylaundering conspiracies.
Neal Collins, a freelance journalist who has written several books on Fifa, said the arrests should have happened years ago. “South Africa was the most profitable World Cup for Fifa. Fifa literally raped South Africa of money,” he said.
“Without question” there were South African links to the Fifa corruption and these links would go all the way to the top of the country’s political realm, Collins said.
The indictment says that in the early 2000s Warner instructed co-conspirator #14, a member of his family, to fly to Paris to meet co-conspirator #15 and collect the briefcase.
In 2004, co-conspirator #1 learnt from Warner that highranking officials of Fifa, the South African government and the local World Cup bidding committee were allegedly preparing to arrange for the government to pay $10-million (R120-million) to secure votes for the 2010 bid.
When no money could be raised from the government, Fifa paid over the $10-million itself from money that should have gone to South Africa for the organising of the World Cup, the indictment says. It provides dates and amounts of wire transfers to US banks.
Morocco, who South Africa beat to host the 2010 event, offered $1-million (R12-million).
Lynch said that even for the historic 2010 event – the first in Africa – Fifa executives and others “corrupted the process by using bribes to influence the hosting decision”.
Warner said yesterday he was innocent of any charges. The head of the 2010 bidding committee, Danny Jordaan – who is expected to be elected mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay today – was unavailable for comment.
It is not the first time corruption in the 2010 Cup has been alleged. Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said in 2012-13 allegations had been made concerning a Singapore national, but nothing had materialised from investigations.
He said the Hawks would assist the FBI if called on to do so.
Last night, Fifa president Sepp Blatter said he welcomed the investigations by the US and Swiss authorities.
“Such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure those who engage in it are put out of the game.”
‘ South Africa was the most profitable World Cup for Fifa. Fifa raped South Africa of money
THE world’s most popular sport was plunged into turmoil yesterday as seven powerful soccer figures were arrested on US corruption charges and faced extradition from Switzerland, whose authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups.
The arrests of the senior Fifa officials in a morning raid at a five-star Zurich hotel mark an unprecedented blow against soccer’s powerful governing body, which for years has been dogged by allegations of corruption but always escaped major criminal cases.
US prosecutors said they aimed to make more arrests but would not be drawn on whether Fifa president Sepp Blatter, for long the most powerful man in the sport, was a target.
Fifa called the arrests a “difficult moment” but said Blatter, 79, would seek a fifth term as Fifa head as planned tomorrow, and that the upcoming World Cups would go ahead as intended.
US authorities said a total of nine soccer officials and five sports media and promotions executives were charged with corruption involving more than $150-million (R1.8billion) in bribes over a period of 24 years.
They said their investigation exposed complex money laundering schemes, millions of dollars in untaxed incomes and tens of millions in offshore accounts held by Fifa officials.
Swiss police arrested the seven Fifa officials and detained them pending extradition proceedings to the US.
“As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world,” FBI director James Comey said.
“Undisclosed and illegal payments, kick- backs and bribes became a way of doing business at Fifa,” he said.
Separate from the US investigation, Swiss prosecutors said they had opened their own criminal proceedings against unidentified people on suspicion of mismanagement and money laundering related to the awarding of rights to host the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 event in Qatar.
US attorney-general Loretta Lynch said at a news conference in New York her office did not want to impede the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but looked forward to working with Swiss authorities investigating the award of the tournaments.
“Fifa has a lot of soul searching to do,” she said.
One of those indicted, former Fifa vicepresident Jack Warner of Trinidad, solicited $10-million (R120-million) in bribes from the South African government to host the 2010 World Cup, the US Justice Department said.
The US took jurisdiction of the case in part because the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI secured the cooperation of US citizen Chuck Blazer, a former top Fifa official, who US officials said had not paid taxes for years.
Another person charged is Jeffrey Webb, head of the Confederation of North, Central America, Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) based in Miami.
Early yesterday, FBI agents carrying bags and boxes to execute a search warrant went into Concacaf’s office in Miami Beach.
Kelly Currie, the acting US attorney in Brooklyn, said yesterday’s charges brought in the New York City borough represent “the beginning of our effort, not the end”.
In addition to Blazer, 70, others who pleaded guilty were Jose Hawilla, 71, owner of the Traffic Group, a sports marketing firm founded in Brazil, and two of his companies; Daryan Warner, 46, and Daryll Warner, 40, sons of Jack Warner. – Reuters