US expects more charges in FIFA probe

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that US authorities had expanded their investigations into corruption within global soccer, expecting to file additional criminal charges soon.

"What I can say is that, separate and apart from the pending indictment, our investigation remains active and ongoing, and has in fact expanded since May," Lynch said at a news conference.

Lynch could give no timescale on the investigations but both she and her Swiss counterpart, Michael Lauber, indicated their probes could be lengthy affairs. Lynch, who had launched the probe while still serving as a prosecutor in New York, said she had uncovered decades of bribery and money laundering in world football.

"The problem of corruption in soccer is global, and we will remain vigilant to provide a global response."

Swiss focus on 2018 and 2022 bids

Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber added that his office had seized property and flats in the Swiss Alps in connection with his probe of FIFA, world soccer's governing body.

Separate to the US investigations, Swiss authorities had also launched an investigation into whether corruption was a factor in Russia's and Qatar's successful bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Lauber's office was reportedly looking at 81 suspicious transactions that had passed through Swiss bank accounts, aiming to see if any bribes had been paid during the bidding process. Lauber said this leg of the Swiss investigation had not even reached the half-way stage.

It remains unclear what might happen to Russia and Qatar's tickets to host the World Cups if conclusive evidence of bribery were uncovered.

New focus on Sepp Blatter

The United States has indicted nine former FIFA officials and five sports marketing executives to date, charging them with racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud for orchestrating multi-million dollar bribery schemes involving more than $150 million (139 million euros) over 24 years.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has not been accused of any wrongdoing by Swiss or US authorities so far; however, according to Reuters news agency, the FBI might be examining his stewardship of the organization as part of ongoing investigations. Blatter has insisted throughout the investigation that his record was clean.

But the Zurich news conference came after a Swiss TV report had alleged that Blatter had undersold World Cup television rights to the former Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president Jack Warner. When asked if Blatter was a current target of investigations, Lynch said that she did not wish to comment.

Blatter, 79, was re-elected FIFA president at the May 29 congress for a fifth term amid widespread controversy but said four days later that he would step down. A new president was scheduled to be elected on February 26 next year at an extraordinary congress.

Extradition to the US

The congress where Blatter was re-elected began with the arrest of seven senior FIFA officials over corruption accusations in Zurich, followed by further arrests.

Only one of those seven initial suspects, former FIFA Vice President Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, agreed to extradition and has been sent to the United States, while six others have been contesting a transfer to American courts.

The Swiss justice ministry has said it would rule on the remaining extradition requests in the coming weeks.

Lynch has previously said that she wanted all FIFA officials arrested in Zurich to face trial in the US.

ss/msh (AFP, Reuters, dpa)