Two Years on, FIFA Hands Corruption Probe to Authorities

(Bloomberg) -- Soccer's governing body handed the facts collected in its multi-million dollar investigation into its former leadership to Switzerland's attorney general to pursue the case further.

The 22-month investigation was sparked by the unprecedented indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice that alleged senior soccer officials had engaged in corrupt practices for more than two decades. Several former executives have already pleaded guilty, and others face trial in a crisis that brought down almost all of FIFA's top management, including its former President Joseph "Sepp" Blatter.

"FIFA committed to conducting a thorough and comprehensive investigation of the facts so we could hold wrongdoers within football accountable and cooperate with the authorities,” Blatter's replacement, Gianni Infantino, said in a statement. "We have now completed that investigation and handed the evidence over to the authorities, who will continue to pursue those who enriched themselves and abused their positions of trust in football. FIFA will now return its focus to the game, for fans and players throughout the world."

A report of more than 1,300 pages and more than 20,000 pages of exhibits were sent to Swiss prosecutors, FIFA said. The investigation was carried out by law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, which has billed the governing body more than $30 million, Bloomberg reported last month. FIFA has spent about $100 million in legal fees since the scandal broke.

FIFA declined to reveal details about what was found in its investigation, citing ongoing criminal investigations in the U.S. and Switzerland. The reports will also be made available to U.S. authorities, FIFA said.

Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber's office said it "appreciates the preliminary exchange of information and FIFA's close and consistent cooperation" and confirmed it's restricted FIFA from providing details or commenting on the findings of the investigation.

Last year, it criticized Germany's soccer body for releasing a report into suspected corruption linked to the 2006 World Cup.

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Swiss prosecutors started separate investigations into FIFA after the U.S. filed charges. They accuse Blatter of criminal mismanagement related to the sale of media rights in the Caribbean and a suspected "disloyal payment" of 2 million Swiss francs ($2 million) to the ex-head of European soccer. That case remains active, and new details uncovered by FIFA's internal investigation will be shared with Swiss authorities. Blatter denies wrongdoing.

The Justice Department charged about 40 individuals and companies with counts including racketeering, wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy. The sprawling indictment described bribery and kickback schemes related to media and sponsorship rights worth more than $200 million.

The charges led to the ouster of most of FIFA's senior management. Blatter, his longtime No. 2, Jerome Valcke, and the once-powerful head of European soccer, Michel Platini, were also banned from the sport. In June, FIFA revealed Blatter, Valcke and Markus Kattner, its fired finance head, awarded themselves more than 79 million Swiss francs over the past five years from bonuses, incentives and salary increases, some of which probably broke Swiss law. Platini, Valcke and Kattner have all denied wrongdoing.

As well as conducting the internal investigation, Quinn Emanuel has been FIFA's conduit with the Justice Department. The U.S. granted victim status to FIFA and two other regional soccer bodies associated with the scandals, allowing the groups to share millions of dollars in restitution.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Paul Jarvis