Following the United States Justice Department indictment of several top FIFA officials, Interpol has put up an international alert for two former FIFA officials and four executives on charges including racketeering and corruption, according to Daily Mail.UK. Besides Jack Warner, the other top FIFA official is Executive Committee member, Nicolas Leoz.
Also on the most wanted list are Alejandro Burzaco and brothers Hugo and Mariano Jinks, who allegedly paid $100 million in bribes for media and commercial rights to soccer tournaments, as well as Jose Margulies, a Brazilian broadcast executive. The bribery and corruption scandals have put the host nations of 2018 and 2022 World Cup which are Russia and Qatar in doubts.
It was also reported earlier that South Africa paid $10 million in bribes to win the bid to host the 2010 World Cup and the money transaction was actually trailed to Jack Warner, the Vice President of FIFA. South Africa Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula had vehemently denied his country ever paying any bribes to host the World Cup.
The scandal has led to the resignation announcement of FIFA’s long running President Sepp Blatter whose 16 years at the helm of the World soccer governing body has made his name synonymous with FIFA. Meanwhile, last Thursday, 28th May, Russia President Vladimir Putin said that the US Justice Department indictments are part of the American attempt to wreck Russia as the host of the 2018 World Cup and accused the US government of hegemony and extra-jurisdictional in their indictments of FIFA officials. He also categorically denied that Russia had anything to do with bribery in winning the World Cup bid, Los Angeles Times reports.
