Warner: former Fifa kingpin spends night in jail after corruption arrest

Warner did not enter a plea and was scheduled to appear in court again on 12 July.

Police said there was a delay in processing Warner’s bail and he would spend one night in jail. Before turning himself in, Warner denied he had done anything wrong.

The US has two months to issue a formal extradition request, according to Trinidad’s attorney general, Garvin Nicholas, who said his office had been working with the US justice department for about two years regarding the investigation into Warner, who was forced out of Fifa in 2011 over a bribery scandal.

In a video posted on Facebook just hours before he surrendered, Warner said: “I want to tell you, that whatever is planned for me, negatively, shall not succeed.”

Warner, who is an opposition member of parliament in the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, and previously served as Trinidad’s national security minister, can be extradited to the US under a bilateral treaty following a hearing.
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“Mr Warner is entitled to a fair extradition process and both the requesting and requested states intend to abide by the provisions of the treaty to ensure that Mr Warner’s rights are respected,” the attorney general said in a statement.

American prosecutors on Wednesday accused nine senior current or former Fifa officials – seven of whom, including Fifa vice-presidents Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo, were arrested in dawn raids at a five-star hotel in Switzerland – of “hijacking” international football to run “a World Cup of fraud” to line their pockets by $150m.

The Swiss federal prosecutor also raided Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich in a parallel investigation into the controversial bidding race for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively in December 2010.

Loretta Lynch, the US attorney general, said the Fifa officials had allegedly run a “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” scheme to “acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks”.

“They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest, and protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and enrich themselves.”

Lynch said the nine Fifa officials, including Warner, and five sports marketing executives had run “a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer”.

“These individuals and organisations engaged in bribery to decide who would televise games; where the games would be held; and who would run the organisation overseeing organised soccer worldwide,” Lynch said.

“They corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and enrich themselves. They did this over and over, year after year, tournament after tournament.”

Among an avalanche of new claims was one that South Africa paid $10m in bribes to secure the 2010 World Cup – and that the cash was transferred via a Fifa account. The money was allegedly paid to former Fifa members Warner and Chuck Blazer – an American who became an FBI informer after he was threatened over millions in unpaid tax.

Lynch said she would seek the extradition of the men to the US to stand trial as soon as possible. If found guilty of racketeering, the most serious of the 47 charges, some of the men face up to 20 years in jail.

Earlier in the day, Warner denied any wrongdoing, as he has previously when confronted with allegations that he enriched himself while an official with the global soccer governing body and as a president of Concacaf, Fifa’s North American regional organisation.

Warner left football in 2011 to avoid Fifa sanctions during the organisation’s presidential election. He said he was not questioned in the investigation that led to this week’s indictment, which also involves guilty pleas by two of his sons on related charges.

“I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter,” he said in a statement. “I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges.

“I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.”

In a brief phone conversation with the Associated Press, Warner declined to comment further and said he did not have enough information about his sons’ guilty pleas to comment. “I can’t say anything about what I don’t know about.”

Warner represents the constituency of Chaguanas West in parliament. His term is due to expire when the session ends on 17 June.

Later, he told TV6 that US authorities “know where to find me” and added: “I sleep very soundly in the night.”

DOCUMENTS (below)

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JACK Warner JAILED
By JADA LOUTOO and RYAN HAMILTON-DAVIS
T&T Newsday
 
CHAGUANAS West Member of Parliament and former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner spent last night in jail after he was unable to have bail documents approved to allow his release on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies in connection with a 24-year scheme to enrich himself by corrupting soccer.

A generally sombre Warner managed some smiles and a wave as he emerged from the Port-of- Spain Magistrates’ Court at 5 pm yesterday after being granted $2.5 million bail by Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayes Caesar before whom he appeared. He surrendered to police about an hour earlier.

When his matter came up in the courtroom, his attorney Fyard Hosein told the chief magistrate that he had secured “pre-approved” bail in the sum of $1.9 million. This drew a quizzical look from Ayers Caesar who asked the attorney what he meant. Hosein responded that it was the sum approved by a Justice of the Peace.

However, the chief magistrate made it clear that it was for her to determine the bail amount and ordered the sum of $2.5 million instead. Warner went to the Fraud Squad at the corner of Richmond and Park streets in Port-of-Spain hours after he and 13 others, all overseas football officials, were indicted by the United States Department of Justice accused of abusing their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

In a press statement, issued early yesterday after the 47-count indictment was unsealed in a Federal court in Brooklyn, New York, and began making international headlines on most news networks including the BBC and CNN, Warner maintained his innocence and said FIFA business no longer concerned him. He also said in a radio interview early yesterday morning that he was able to sleep at nights and that if the United States Department of Justice wanted him, they knew where to find him. (See Pages 16 and 17)

In addition to being an MP, Warner is political leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP), which will be contesting 41 seats in the upcoming general elections Although granted bail by the chief magistrate, Warner was unable to get the documents approved and was taken to the Frederick Street remand yard, after last ditch efforts to rectify matters failed. He is due to return to court on July 9, but his attorneys are expected to iron out the bail issues today to allow him to be released.

A provisional warrant of arrest was sought by the United States for Warner’s extradition to that country to answer an eight-count indictment. At about 2.30 pm yesterday, Warner and his attorneys went to the Fraud Squad offices where he surrendered. Almost an hour later, he was taken by police to the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court where he appeared before the chief magistrate who read out the 12 charges to him and subsequently heard the bail application by his lead attorney Hosein.

Hosein told Ayers Caesar that his client was entitled to bail, was of good character and was a sitting Member of Parliament, a former teacher, Minister and Special Reserve Policeman. With no objections, the chief magistrate set bail in the sum of $2.5 million with a surety, to be approved by a Clerk of the Peace. She also ordered that Warner surrender his passport and report to the Arouca Police Station on Mondays and Thursdays between 6 am and 6 pm. Hosein indicated that they had a pre-approved deed, as well as other documents, to cover bail in the sum of $1.9 million. Once bail was set at $2.5 million, another deed was brought but it made little difference to the Clerk of the Peace III, whose approval was required.

According to the charges, Warner and several others, are alleged to have systematically paid and agreed to pay over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments.

A suited Warner sat quietly in the prisoners’ docks throughout his court appearance. His only response was “Thank You Ma’am”, before being led out of the courtroom by court and process officers.

At about 4.54 pm, a marked police vehicle reversed into the area at the St Vincent Street Magistrates’ Court reserved for prisoners, leading to speculation that Warner would be going to prison for the night. Confirmation came minutes later and he was taken to the Frederick Street remand yard. One man among scores of curious onlookers who gathered outside the courts to get a glimpse of the former FIFA boss, loudly expressed his support for Warner, saying he should be tried in an international court rather than in “biased” US courts.

As Warner was taken from the courthouse, one woman almost collapsed in grief while his driver also wept openly. In a statement earlier in the day, Warner distanced himself from the investigations and questioned the timing of the arrests. (See Page 5)

Of the 14 former FIFA officials and corporate executives indicted in the American courts, seven of them were arrested yesterday in Zurich where the international football body is curently meeting to elect a new president. Four other men previously pleaded guilty to the US charges including Warner’s two sons, Daryan and Daryll.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said: “The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States. It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organisations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable.”

“Today’s action makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice – and we look forward to continuing to work with other countries in this effort,” she said.

Also appearing for Warner during his court appearance in Port- of-Spain yesterday were Rishi Dass, Nyree Alphonso and Rekha Ramjit. Senior Counsel Pamela Elder leads Jagdeo Singh, Gerald Ramdeen, Richard Mason and Alvin Pariagsingh for the requesting state.

The Central Authority, through which the US is seeking Warner’s extradition, is represented by its Head, Netram Kowlessar.

Visa warns FIFA: Clean up your act now or else
CNNMONEY

Some of the biggest corporate sponsors of soccer are worried in the wake of the corruption scandal now engulfing FIFA.

In a strongly worded statement late Wednesday, Visa called on the world's premier soccer organization to "take swift and immediate steps" to clean up its act.

"It is important that FIFA makes changes now," Visa (V) said. "Should FIFA fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship."

Earlier, another major sponsor, Coca-Cola (KO), said the "controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup." The company said it has "repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations."

 The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday indicted 14 people, including senior soccer executives, in a sweeping corruption probe spanning the globe. American officials said their investigation is continuing and Switzerland is conducting its own probe.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch also implicated at least one American company in the corruption allegations. Without going into any detail, she said the investigation included the "sponsorship of the Brazilian national soccer team by a major U.S. sportswear company," the 2011 FIFA presidential election and the site of the 2010 World Cup.

 McDonald's (MCD) said that it "takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously" and that it is in contact with FIFA and is monitoring the situation closely.

Adidas (ADDDF) called on FIFA to raise its standards.

"The Adidas Group is fully committed to creating a culture that promotes the highest standards of ethics and compliance, and we expect the same from our partners," the company said.

Adidas said that it will "encourage FIFA to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do."

 Budweiser's parent company, Anheuser-Busch (AHBIF), said, "We expect all of our partners to maintain strong ethical standards and operate with transparency. We continue to closely monitor the situation through our ongoing communications with FIFA."

Adidas and Visa paid an average of $32 million a year for their partnership deals with FIFA, while Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Budweiser forked over an average of $19 million each, according to estimates by IEG, a consulting and research firm.

All told, FIFA will pocket a total of about $1.6 billion from its major sponsors over a four-year period between 2011 and 2014, IEG calculated.

Nike becomes suspected player in alleged $150 million FIFA bribery scandal
By Drew Harwell

The international investigation into bribery, fraud and corruption at FIFA involved some surprising American names: The Miami chairman of a popular nationwide soccer league, and a major U.S. sportswear firm some believe could be Nike.

For more than two decades, the Justice Department said Wednesday, five "unscrupulous" U.S. and South American sports and banking executives helped funnel more than $150 million in bribes to officials atop FIFA, the multibillion-dollar goliath governing the world's most popular sport.

The indictment also alleges bribes were paid and pocketed in connection with the sponsorship of the Brazilian national soccer team by "a major U.S. sportswear company." Although investigators will not name the company, the indictment says the sportswear firm signed a 10-year, $160 million sponsorship deal with the Brazilian team in 1996, closely matching Nike’s clothes, shoes and equipment deal with the team that year.

The indictment alleges a sportswear-company official agreed three days later to allow Traffic Brazil, a sports marketing company, to charge additional "marketing fees." Traffic then invoiced the company for tens of millions of dollars more in payments over the next three years that investigators say were bribes.

Nike's current contract, which expires in 2018, includes $34 million a year in payments to the team, the fourth-largest uniform deal in international soccer, and the Oregon-based mega-firm's Swoosh logo sits on every Brazilian player's outfit.

The Brazilian sponsorship deal helped transform Nike from a brand mostly known for running and basketball shoes into a global sports giant. Nike’s soccer revenue surpassed $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2014, up from $40 million in 1994.

A Nike representative said in a statement that the firm is "concerned by the very serious allegations ... and strongly opposes any form of manipulation or bribery," adding that the company is cooperating with the authorities.

Nike investors seemed to shrug off the issue, sending the $88 billion giant's stock falling less than 1 percent. Even if Nike was implicated, analysts expected it would have minimal impact on the Big Swoosh.

"What fans or consumers are going to be much more concerned about is doping of athletes, fixing of matches, that kind of thing," said Matt Powell, a sports industry analyst for NPD Group. “I think they couldn’t care less who paid whom for what marketing deal.”

The broader corruption charges allege the five U.S. and South American businessmen pocketed kickbacks in exchange for media rights and marketing deals tied to some of soccer's most profitable games.

Investigators said they acted secretly, hatching intricate money laundering schemes, smuggling cash and wiring tens of millions of dollars through offshore accounts from the Cayman Islands to Hong Kong.

Besides the nine FIFA officials, sports-marketing executives Alejandro Burzaco, Aaron Davidson, Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis were indicted on charges of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and a host of other charges tied to years of “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted" corruption, as Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch called them.

The executives are accused of serving as middlemen between FIFA and its six continental confederations, who make most of their money selling media and marketing rights to popular matches, and the legion of TV and radio networks, corporate sponsors and other licensees, who want to broadcast the games or promote their brands.

By bribing corrupt FIFA officials with more than $150 million since 1991, the Justice Department said, the marketing executives secured themselves lucrative multiyear contracts.

About $4 billion of FIFA's $5.7 billion in revenue between 2011 and 2014 came from contracts for TV and marketing rights for the 2014 World Cup, the Justice Department said.

Several prominent South American business leaders were charged in the investigation of what Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation chief Richard Weber called "the World Cup of fraud."

Burzaco, 50, is the chief executive of Torneos y Competencias S.A. (Tournaments and Competitions), an Argentinean sports broadcast firm that runs pay-TV channels, such as TyC Sports, and owns the rights to air key soccer matches, including World Cup qualifiers.

Hugo Jinkis, 70, and his son Mariano Jinkis, 40, were the president and vice president of Full Play Group S.A., an Argentinean sports-marketing agency that holds the TV rights to many South American games.

José Margulies, 75, the controlling principal of Valente Corp. and Somerton Ltd., was also accused of helping coordinate the illegal payments between the executives and officials.

The lone American executive charged so far is Aaron Davidson, 44, the president of Traffic Sports USA, a Miami-based arm of the Traffic Group, a Brazilian sports marketing conglomerate.

Davidson is chairman of the board of the North American Soccer League (NASL), and Traffic Sports USA owns stakes in several of its regional soccer franchises, including the Atlanta Silverbacks and the Carolina RailHawks, and a former stake in the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Davidson spoke for the company in media interviews as recently as last week's Sport Innovation Summit in Mexico City.

Registered in Miami since 1990, Traffic Sports USA is headquartered in a glitzy office tower, Courvoisier Centre, on the gated island of Brickell Key, state business records show. The firm's office line in Miami gave no answer Wednesday.

In 2012, the company won a massive marketing contract with FIFA to manage two mega-popular soccer tournaments for the U.S.-based soccer confederation, CONCACAF: the 2013 Gold Cup and 2015 Champions League.

Davidson said at the time that the company was "honored to have been selected by CONCACAF to represent these prestigious competitions,” and added that “being based in South Florida over the past 21 years has been very strategic and advantageous for us."

How firms like the Traffic Group allegedly kept bribes pumping play out over the court records of José Hawilla, the firm's 71-year-old Brazilian founder. In December, Hawilla pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice, agreeing to forfeit more than $151 million, including $25 million on the spot.

Founded in Sao Paulo in 1980, the privately held Traffic Group focused on the "commercialization of soccer" through buying and selling media rights such as field branding, sponsorship deals and licensed merchandise. In a 2011 lawsuit, Traffic Sports International described itself as "one of the leading sports event and management companies in the world."

Traffic International funneled bribes extensively, investigators said: In five payments starting in 2010, for rights tied to the 2011 Copa America, the firm wired $22 million that bounced between a Miami bank, a Banco de Brasil in New York, and an account in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Federal investigators said Hawilla and his co-conspirators did nearly everything to conceal their scheme, including tapping a Swiss bank account, trusted financial advisers and currency dealers to help hide illegal payments. They also created shell companies and bank accounts in tax havens and secretive jurisdictions, evaded income taxes and resorted to bulk cash smuggling.

Both Traffic Sports International and Traffic Sports USA pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy this month.

The executives found a profitable playground in FIFA, which holds more than $1.5 billion in cash reserves. The organization pockets about $1.4 billion from its six official corporate sponsors every four years, with Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai/Kia Motors, Emirates, Sony and Visa pledged as partners for the most recent World Cup.

Made up of 209 regional member associations that represent organized soccer, FIFA is both financially opaque, cloaking much of its spending and executive salaries, and tremendously profitable.

Between 2007 and 2010, when FIFA made 83 percent of its more than $4 billion in revenues off selling TV and marketing rights to the 2010 World Cup, its profits totaled about $631 million, income statements show.

FIFA, or the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, called itself the “injured party” in the investigation and said it "welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any wrongdoing in football,” a statement released Wednesday said.

Jack Warner, a former FIFA vice president and soccer official from Trinidad and Tobago charged in the U.S. case, said in a statement to the Daily Mail in London that the investigation hid economic motives.

“The large world powers typically take actions to affect world football,'' Warner said. " World football is an enormous international business.”

Post researcher Alice Crites contributed to this report.