Sepp Blatter Reportedly Under FBI Investigation: Latest Details and Comments
FIFA President Sepp Blatter is under investigation from the FBI, reported by ABC News on June 3.
The 79-year-old—who won a fifth term in office on May 29—initially appeared to step down amid allegations of corruption within football's governing body. However, Blatter backtracked on that resignation announcement on June 26, casting mystery over his future.
Seven FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich as part of a U.S. investigation, with 14 individuals indicted on charges of "racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies," per the U.S. Department of Justice. Swiss authorities are also carrying out a separate examination into the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively, per BBC News.
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Blatter 'Being Investigated' by the FBI
Wednesday, June 3
"Sources familiar with the case told ABC News today that Blatter is being investigated by the FBI and U.S. prosecutors as part of the probe that led to last week's stunning indictments," reported Josh Margolin and Susanna Kim of ABC News.
Investigators are also expecting those involved to turn on Blatter. "Now that people are going to want to save themselves, there's probably a race to see who will flip on (Blatter) first," one source told ABC News. "We may not be able to collapse the whole organization but maybe you don't need to."
However, it seems Blatter may yet stand firm. The FIFA chief performed something of a U-turn on his resignation on June 26, when he told Swiss newspaper Blick (per Tom Adams of Yahoo.com): "I have not resigned. Rather, I have made my mandate available at an extraordinary congress."
Blatter's initial indication that he would step down, reported by Eliott C. McLaughlin of CNN, came just four days after he was elected for the fifth time.
Regardless of Blatter's future, FIFA has a reputation to repair amid claims FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke was involved with a $10 million bribe over South Africa's hosting of the 2010 World Cup, as revealed by New York Times' William K. Rashbaum and Matt Apuzzo on June 1.
FIFA suggested former finance chief Julio Grondona authorised the payment, as reported by Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association (h/t the Daily Mail). He died last year at the age of 82.
Ziegler provided evidence to suggest Valcke was involved, however:
While Blatter's initial indication to resign may not be linked to this development, it came just hours after the document was made public knowledge. Valcke denied wrongdoing, per BBC News.
As noted by the New York Times (h/t BBC News), U.S. officials are now hoping to utilise the knowledge of those already indicted to "build a case against Mr Blatter."
