FIFA Officials Facing Corruption Charges

According to CNN, the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to bring corruption charges against up to 14 senior officials at FIFA, the world's soccer governing body.  The reports from CNN come from "law enforcement officials."  According to the New York Times, several FIFA officials have already been arrested in Switzerland in a "extraordinary early-morning operation." 

FIFA has been under investigation for some time, including with regards to the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which will occur in Russia and Qatar.  FIFA conducted an internal investigation of the selection process for each event.  The investigation was led by Michael Garcia of Kirkland & Ellis.  Garcia submitted his report to FIFA in September 2014.  FIFA then released a "summary" of the report's findings, which summary Garcia alleged was "erroneous."  Garcia resigned as independent chair of the FIFA Ethics Committee's Investigatory Chamber in December 2014.

One issue that will be interesting to watch in this case is the manner by which the U.S. alleges jurisdiction over the senior FIFA officials despite the fact that alleged corruption occurred overseas and FIFA is an association governed by Swiss law.  According to CNN, the U.S. will allege jurisdiction exists because of the breadth of U.S. tax and banking regulations.  Further, the government will reportedly rely in part on the fact that significant revenue is generated by the U.S. television market.  This is certainly a case we will be hearing a lot about in the coming months. 

(LED)