U.S. investigators are stepping up the pace of a
corruption investigation into senior leaders of
FIFA, even as the world soccer body is giving
itself a clean bill of health, according to U.S.
law enforcement officials.
The FIFA ethics committee announced Thursday
that it was closing its investigation into alleged
corruption in the 2018 and 2022 bidding
process that awarded the World Cup to Russia
and Qatar, respectively.
FIFA said its investigation found no corruption
and has no reason to reopen the bidding
process.
But the FBI, which is leading the U.S. probe,
isn't ready to do the same.
Investigators are
moving ahead with their probe, which could
result in charges against senior FIFA officials,
the U.S. law enforcement officials said.
FBI agents based in New York are moving
ahead with their 3-year-old investigation, which
will likely benefit from the findings of a former
U.S. prosecutor, Michael Garcia, who was hired
by FIFA to do an internal probe. The FBI plans
to seek access to Garcia's report, which FIFA
hasn't yet released.
The FBI declined to offer an official comment.
Garcia on Thursday distanced himself from the
FIFA ethics announcement, saying: "Today's
decision by the Chairman of the Adjudicatory
Chamber contains numerous materially
incomplete and erroneous representations of
the facts and conclusions detailed in the
Investigatory Chamber's report. I intend to
appeal this decision to the FIFA Appeal
Committee."
A U.S. law enforcement official said the probe
is looking at a variety of alleged corruption
issues, including the 2018 and 2022 bidding
process.
The FBI investigation includes the cooperation
of a former top FIFA official who has provided
documents and recordings of meetings with
colleagues, law enforcement officials said.
Vanguard.
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