16 more FIFA officials charged
Washington, United States (AFP)-Sixteen more top football officials
were charged in a dramatic widening of the FIFA corruption scandal on
Thursday, as US prosecutors vowed to leave no stone unturned in their
quest to root out graft.
Several senior FIFA officials from the past or present were named in
a 92-count US Justice Department indictment which came after a series of
dawn raids at a luxury hotel in Zurich hosting FIFA officials.
Among those indicted on Thursday were the president of the South
American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), Juan Angel Napout, and
Alfredo Hawit, head of the North, Central American and Caribbean ruling
body (CONCACAF).
Other notable officials indicted include Ricardo Teixeira, the
once-powerful former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation and a
former FIFA vice-president.
The indicted also included Ariel Alvarado, a Panamanian official who
currently sits on FIFA's disciplinary committee.
"The message from this announcement should be clear to every culpable
individual who remains in the shadows, hoping to evade our
investigation. You will not wait us out. You will not escape our focus,"
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, describing the allegations as
"outrageous" and "unconscionable."
Lynch revealed that eight more people indicted since authorities
launched an earlier wave of FIFA raids and arrests in Switzerland in May
had now pleaded guilty.
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