Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials in Zurich in the early hours of Wednesday morning, on charges of corruption. The arrests came at the request of the U.S. Justice Department and are the result of a three-year FBI investigation. Those indicted on Wednesday include nine FIFA officials, as well as four marketing executives whose companies had dealings with the organization. According to the DOJ, all of the defendants were facing charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses. Also this morning, DOJ officials searched the premises of the Central America and Caribbean football federation (CONCACAF) in Miami, Florida. In a separate development, the Office of the Swiss Attorney General has opened criminal proceedings against FIFA on suspicion of “criminal management” and “money laundering” regarding the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which will take place in Russia and Qatar respectively. Wednesday’s raid took place ahead of Friday’s vote to elect a new president for the governing body of world soccer. Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the incumbent, is widely expected to be re-elected for a fifth term, despite a series of corruption investigations and allegations which have tarnished FIFA’s image. The arrest, at the request of U.S. authorities, came as a surprise to many. Swiss officials, however, said their American counterparts had good reason to pursue the case. “According to U....
In the final weeks of the Championship season, teams jostled for their place in the play-offs. The competitiveness was welcome, since Hearts had secured the title in March, earlier than any other side in senior British football. Hibernian and Rangers were battling for the advantage that came with finishing second, having two games fewer to…
Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials in Zurich in the early hours of Wednesday morning, on charges of corruption. The arrests came at the request of the U.S. Justice Department and are the result of a three-year FBI investigation. Those indicted on Wednesday include nine FIFA officials, as well as four marketing executives whose companies…
Following an unusual Friday-night session of Congress ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, Senators will reconvene in another rare holiday-recess vote on May 31 in the hopes of salvaging legislation that would end the NSA’s bulk call data collection program and rein in its powers of surveillance. The USA Freedom Act, passed in the House…
Disney (DIS) and Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” will pass the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office on Friday, according to Disney. This means the mega-blockbuster will pass the milestone on its 24th day of being released globally. For Marvel, this is the third film to break $1 billion worldwide since 2012. It…
Though most of the other Avengers have their own series, it appears Marvel has no plans to make a Black Widow movie in the near future. But in case the execs change their minds, one fan has helped them get a head start. When film student Christopher Haley needed a final project for his class…
A well-known U.S. hacker told F.B.I. agents he took momentary control of an airplane’s engines mid-flight by hacking into its inflight entertainment system, according to a document filed in U.S. federal court and obtained by APTN National News. Roberts, who has been interviewed at least three times by the F.B.I. this year, is under investigation…