“(1) In its resolution 55/61 of 4 December 2000, the General Assembly recognized that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (resolution 55/25, annex I) was desirable and decided to establish an ad hoc committee for the negotiation of such an instrument in Vienna at the headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The text of the United Nations Convention against Corruption was negotiated during seven sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of the Convention against Corruption, held between 21 January 2002 and 1 October 2003. The Convention approved by the Ad Hoc Committee was adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003. The General Assembly, in its resolution 57/169 of 18 December 2002, accepted the offer of the Government of Mexico to host a high-level political signing conference in Merida for the purpose of signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In accordance with article 68 (1) of resolution 58/4, the United Nations Convention against Corruption entered into force on 14 December 2005. A Conference of the States Parties is established to review implementation and facilitate activities required by the Convention.
(2) First International Forum on Tax and Crime ∙ Oslo ∙ 21-23 March 2011. Issues related to greater inter-agency co-operation were discussed by more than 150 delegates from 54 delegations who participated in the first tax and crime forum on 21-23 March 2011 in Oslo hosted by the Norwegian government. The conference brought together representatives from a range of OECD and non-OECD governmental agencies, including Tax Administrations, Finance and Justice Ministries, Financial Intelligence Units, Central Banks, FATF, International Organisations, as well as business and NGOs. Second International Forum on Tax and Crime ∙ Rome ∙ 14-15 June 2012. This Forum brought together senior policy makers from different government agencies including the tax, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption communities, as well as private sector representatives, NGOs and other interested stakeholders. Participants examined best practice approaches to closer inter-agency co-operation at the domestic level and explore how to improve international cooperation. The conference also showcased specific key risks in the tax and crime area, allowing countries to target resources and learn from the experience of others. Building on previous events in Oslo and Rome, the Third Forum on Tax and Crime provided an opportunity for senior government officials from tax and customs administrations, anti-money laundering and anti‑corruption authorities, police and law enforcement, public prosecutors, financial regulators and government Ministries, as well as international organisations and NGOs, to discuss current issues and country experiences on key policy and operational topics in combating all forms of financial crime.
(3) The 4th Joint African Union Commission/United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (AUC/ECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development was held in 2011. This Conference mandated ECA to establish the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Illicit financial flows out of Africa have become a matter of major concern because of the scale and negative impact of such flows on Africa’s development and governance agenda. By some estimates, illicit flows from Africa could be as much as US $50 billion per annum. This is approximately double the official development assistance (ODA) that Africa receives and, indeed, the estimate may well be short of reality as accurate data does not exist for all transactions and for all African countries.
Fronting means a deliberate circumvention or attempted circumvention of the South African B-BBEE Act and the Codes. Fronting commonly involves reliance on data or claims of compliance based on misrepresentations of facts, whether made by the party claiming compliance or by any other person. Verification agencies, and /or procurement officers and relevant decision-makers may come across fronting indicators through their interactions with measured entities. The B-BBEE Commission may also approach a court of law to restrain any breach or for any appropriate remedial relief, which may include setting aside the transaction or initiative. The B-BBEE Commission will not discuss the merit or the details of its investigative process, but the findings will be published as required in the B-BBEE Act.
A letter to the ICC written by Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has claimed that three top and regular IPL players received illegal payments - in cash and kind - from an Indian business house
The U.S. government's 2014 report on human rights practices highlights terror groups, rising conflict, and corruption and poor governance as key problems ...
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila has filed a criminal complaint against more than a dozen current and former government officials for fraud and corruption, the...
The Pan-African workers regional organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has written an open letter to President Paul Kagame petitioning him to lead his counterparts in a new campaign to end Illicit Financial Flows...
(CNN)Former senior FIFA official Jack Warner, indicted in a wide-ranging bribery scandal, has promised to unleash a tide of evidence relating to the dealings of world soccer's governing body and its president, Sepp Blatter.
Warner said he fears for his life but it is time to stop keeping secrets for others.
The revelations came first in a paid political ad, titled "Jack Warner: The Gloves are Off," in which he said he had prepared a comprehensive series of documents on FIFA's transactions, including checks and corroborated statements.
They have been placed in "different and respected hands," he said. "There can be no turning back."
In the TV ad, aired in his native Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, Warner said he would "no longer keep secrets for those persons who now seek actively to destroy this country's hard-won international image."
He also said, "I reasonably and surely fear for my life."
Warner, who has so far not produced any documents or other physical evidence to support his claims, has displayed some erratic behavior in recent days as the scandal has widened.
He scored a public relations own-goal Sunday by citing an article by satirical news outlet The Onion in an attempt to counter criminal charges against him and prove the United States was pursuing its own agenda in the investigation.
And last week, shortly after he left a Trinidad and Tobago jail in an ambulance -- having reportedly been released on bail on the grounds of exhaustion -- he concluded a news conference in which he accused the United States of a "witch hunt" by dancing and singing, "Don't worry about a thing."
Warner took a more sober tone in his political ad. And shortly after it aired, the 72-year-old again promised to impart information about FIFA's operations to those investigating alleged corruption at a rally for his Independent Liberal Party.
"I also will give them my knowledge of financial transactions at FIFA including, but not limited to, Sepp Blatter. I have been there for 30 consecutive years. I was a heartbeat away from Blatter. I said to him in 2011, 'It's time -- at 75 -- it's time to step down,' " he said.
What's next for FIFA?
Chuck Blazer admits taking bribes
Warner's latest claims came shortly after court records revealed that Chuck Blazer, a former FIFA executive committee member and a key player in the ongoing corruption investigation into international soccer's governing body, had admitted taking bribes.
In a 40-page document that federal prosecutors released Wednesday, Blazer tells the court that he and other members of the FIFA executive committee took bribes between 2004 and 2011 and helped South Africa land the 2010 World Cup.
He also describes facilitating a bribe in connection with the 1998 World Cup bidding process.
U.S. officials have said in another court document that the bribe that Blazer helped to negotiate was paid by Moroccan officials to an unnamed member of FIFA's executive committee. Morocco's bid for the Cup was unsuccessful. France was awarded the 1998 finals.
Jacques Lambert, head of France's 1998 World Cup organizing committee, dismissed any notion that France paid a bribe in an interview with France Info radio Thursday, adding that he couldn't speak for the rival nations.
Lambert said a member of the French committee who met with Warner at the time had assured him "the only thing M. Warner asked for, is that the French team comes to play a '94 World Cup preparation game at Trinidad and Tobago."
Jerome Champagne, ex-deputy secretary general of FIFA, told CNN's French affiliate BFMTV that "the corrupters know very well who they can corrupt."
Who is Chuck Blazer?
Warner: 'Blatter knows why he fell'
Speaking at his political rally Wednesday, Warner said Blatter had turned against him in 2011 when he advised the Swiss to stand down, saying it should be "tomorrow, not the day after," or he would become a lame duck president of FIFA and people might start to ask if he was cooking the books.
"I said to him: 'Step down.' I said to him: 'Mr. Blatter, I empathize with you, because I was in 2011 where you are today. The only difference is you caused my demise, I didn't cause yours.' "
While promising to dish the dirt on others within FIFA, Warner denied wrongdoing himself.
"South Africa didn't give me any $10 million bribe," he said. "Blatter didn't give me any bribe."
He added, "Blatter knows why he fell. And if there's one other person who knows, I do."
Blatter stunned the soccer world Tuesday by announcing his intention to resign, just four days after he was elected president for a fifth term by delegates to FIFA's annual World Congress. According to FIFA rules, the earliest a new leader can be elected would be in four months.
According to the lengthy U.S. Justice Department indictment filed last month, Warner -- a former FIFA vice president and one of nine FIFA officials charged last week -- is accused of taking a $10 million bribe to vote for South Africa's 2010 World Cup.
South Africa's government denies having paid any bribe to secure the hosting rights.
Should FIFA elect a woman to replace Sepp Blatter?
FIFA officials accused of taking $150 million in bribes
FIFA is mired in two investigations right now.
The first: A Swiss criminal investigation into the highly controversial 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, which went to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Authorities have questioned a few people, but no one's been arrested. Blatter's not being questioned as part of the probe, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said last week.
The second: The U.S. investigation that's targeting alleged wrongdoing that spans 24 years. U.S. prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 14 people, on charges ranging from money laundering to fraud and racketeering.
They include FIFA officials who took bribes totaling more than $150 million and in return provided "lucrative media and marketing rights" to soccer tournaments as kickbacks, prosecutors say.
The scandal has prompted speculation over whether Russia or Qatar could lose the right to host their respective World Cups if wrongdoing is proved.
On Thursday, British Culture Secretary John Whittingdale told the House of Commons that England is willing to host the 2022 Cup if it is taken away from Qatar.
"Obviously if FIFA came forward and asked us to consider hosting it, we have the facilities in this country and of course we did mount a very impressive, if unsuccessful, bid to host the 2018 World Cup," he said.
Russia has repeatedly said there is no reason why it would not keep its hosting rights in 2018.
Alexei Sorokin, head of Russia's 2018 organizing committee, told Britain's Guardian newspaper, "We're not afraid of anything. We're organizing the World Cup. If some are trying to take it away, that's their business."
The Asian Football Confederation also pledged its support for Qatar 2022 in a statement Thursday, saying the Gulf was a region of passionate soccer lovers.
"The AFC and the whole Asian football community stands with Qatar and we all look forward to hosting the World Cup, and welcoming the world," it said.
• Letter shows Danny Jordaan suggested payment that went to Jack Warner • South Africa’s opposition says Jordaan must address corruption allegations Danny Jordaan Danny Jordaan has not addressed corruption allegations relating to a $10m payment but the South African government has said it was legitimate. Photograph: AP
David Smith in Johannesburg
Friday 5 June 2015 14.43 BST Last modified on Friday 5 June 2015 14.45 BST
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Pressure is growing on Danny Jordaan, the organiser of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, to break his silence on the Fifa bribery scandal after a leaked letter revealed that he suggested a $10m payment to Caribbean football.
The country’s official opposition party called on Friday for Jordaan to be summoned to parliament to answer the corruption allegations regarding the winning bid to host the tournament.
Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association (Safa), was conspicuously absent from a press conference at its headquarters this week and has reportedly claimed that he has no reason to comment because his name is not mentioned in the US prosecutors’ indictment.
But the front page of Friday’s Mail & Guardian newspaper carried a picture of Jordaan in suit and sunglasses kicking a football beside the headline: “Jordaan’s damning letter to Fifa.”
Inside it carried a photograph of a letter written by Jordaan to Fifa’s general secretary, Jérôme Valcke, and dated 10 December 2007 – three weeks before the first instalment of $10m was paid to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf).
US prosecutors allege the money was a bribe to Fifa officials to help secure hosting rights to the 2010 World Cup. South Africa claims it was a legitimate payment to fund the African diaspora in the Caribbean football.
The leaked letter appears to support South Africa’s contention that the $10m was deducted from funding it had been allocated by Fifa, rather than being taken from the state’s own coffers. It suggests that Jordaan was responsible for proposing this arrangement after discussions with cabinet ministers.
In the letter, Jordaan tells Valcke: “The South African government has undertaken to pay an amount equivalent to $10m towards the 2010 Fifa World Cup Diaspora Legacy Programme” – which the government says relates to Africans around the world, in particular the Caribbean. Advertisement
Jordaan says Jabu Moleketi, then deputy finance minister and a member of his 2010 local organising committee (LOC), “recommended that this money be paid over to Fifa”, presumably from the government’s budget.
But the letter continues: “I have subsequently had a discussion with the minister of foreign affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has said that the funds should rather be paid over to the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.
“In view of this determination, I want to suggest that Fifa deducts this amount from the LOC’s future operational budget and deals directly with the Diaspora legacy support programme.”
But the Mail & Guardian quoted Moleketi as saying the letter was a “fabrication” and he denied having “a conversation of that nature” with Jordaan.
Dlamini-Zuma is now the chairperson of the African Union. She is the ex-wife of the South African president Jacob Zuma and tipped as a potential successor to him. Jack Warner took control of the $10m payment in his capacity then as the head of Concacaf. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jack Warner took control of the $10m payment in his capacity then as the head of Concacaf. Photograph: Alva Viarruel/EPA
The latest disclosure follows the leak of another letter to Valcke by former Safa president Molefi Oliphant three months after Jordaan’s. It contained the formal instruction to Fifa to effect the transfers, although by then two of the three tranches had been paid. It also asked that Fifa put Jack Warner, the former Fifa vice-president and head of Concacaf, in personal control of the money.
With Jordaan, recently elected as a city mayor for the governing African National Congress, remaining tight-lipped, the opposition Democratic Alliance has written to the chairperson of the parliamentary sports and recreation committee demanding that he be called to answer questions.
“Jordaan, Molefi Oliphant and other key officials need to present their case to the South African people on the allegations of corruption that threaten to blemish the 2010 World Cup, which all of us regard as a beacon of national pride,” said Solly Malatsi, the shadow sports and recreation minister.
“We do not want to hear details of the alleged corruption from international organisations and individuals, bit by bit. The quickest way for our South African officials to clear their names, or clarify, is for a parliamentary briefing to urgently take place.”
Malatsi added: “Almost every day since this scandal broke, new pieces of information have come to light. Therefore an inquiry established as an act of parliament must and should summon all members of the bid committee and any government officials who were intimately involved in the bid process for the 2010 World Cup.”
Fikile Mbalula, the South African sports minister, said on Wednesday payments related to the World Cup had been “above board”, and no bribes had been paid. He made reference to a letter written by Jordaan to Valcke. On Friday he retweeted a comment that said: “This so called exclusive from M&G; but the Minister @MbalulaFikile spoke about this letter at his Press Conference this week mos!”
But two former cabinet ministers have rejected Mbalula’s claims that the government decided to support football in the African diaspora. Mosioua Lekota, now an opposition party leader, said he had never heard of the development programme.
“There is no way we can say this was authorised by government,” he was quoted as saying on the Sport24 website. “Never once was anything like this discussed in that cabinet. We didn’t know anything. If this was an honest thing, why didn’t they tell South Africa?
“It is nothing else but a cover up for a bribe that was indeed a bribe. It is absolutely clear to me this is nothing but a lie.”
Former minister Ronnie Kasrils added: “I have no recollection of that ever being discussed or such a decision being taken while I was in cabinet.”
Mbalula hit back, claiming that the bribery allegations “are being used to pursue political agendas”.
The $10m payment is a central plank in the wide-ranging US criminal inquiry that has engulfed world football’s governing body, prompting its president Sepp Blatter to stand down. Valcke has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.
The Fifa spokesperson Delia Fischer told the Mail & Guardian: “As our statement already says, Safa instructed Fifa that the diaspora legacy programme should be administered and implemented directly by the president of Concacaf who at that time was deputy chairman of the finance committee and who should act as the fiduciary of the diaspora legacy programme fund of $10m.
“The payments totalling $10m were authorised by the then chairman of the finance committee and executed in accordance with the organisation regulations of Fifa. Fifa did not incur any costs as a result of South Africa’s request because the funds belonged to the LOC. Both the LOC and Safa adhered to the necessary formalities for the budgetary amendment.”
The FBI's investigation of bribery and corruption at FIFA includes scrutiny of how soccer's governing body awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
Russia and Qatar have denied wrongdoing in the conduct of their bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, which were not the subject of charges announced by U.S. prosecutors a week ago against FIFA officials that stunned world soccer.
The U.S. law enforcement official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the review of the bids would be part of a probe that goes beyond the indictments. Among issues the FBI is examining is the stewardship of FIFA by longtime president Sepp Blatter, who unexpectedly announced on Tuesday he was resigning shortly before it emerged that he too was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement. ADVERTISING
Authorities said last week that they were investigating a case of $150 million paid in bribes over two decades while Swiss prosecutors announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids.
On Wednesday, the partially blacked out transcript of the November 2013 guilty plea of Chuck Blazer, a U.S. citizen and FIFA executive committee member from 1997 to 2013, showed that Blazer and others in FIFA agreed to accept bribes in bidding for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups and other tournaments.
"Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup," Blazer told a federal judge in New York, according to the transcript.
The tournament was hosted by France but separate court documents contain the prosecutors' allegation that bidding nation Morocco paid a bribe to another FIFA executive, Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, and that Blazer acted as the intermediary. Warner has denied this and other charges against him.
Blazer went on to say in his plea hearing that from 2004 and through 2011 "I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup."
Blazer's lawyer declined to comment on Wednesday.
Many of the details were previously revealed in charging documents released by prosecutors when they announced indictments for 14 people, including nine FIFA officials.
Soccer power Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014 but in the case of Qatar, there was some surprise that the tournament was awarded to a small desert country with no real soccer tradition and where daytime summer temperatures can top 40 degrees Celsius (104F).
Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah said there was no way Qatar would be stripped of its right to host the World Cup because it had had the best bid.
"It is very difficult for some to digest that an Arab Islamic country has this tournament, as if this right can't be for an Arab state," he told Reuters in an interview in Paris. "I believe it is because of prejudice and racism that we have this bashing campaign against Qatar."
For its part, Russia dismissed concerns it might lose the right to host the cup. "Cooperation with FIFA is going on and, most importantly, Russia is continuing preparations for the 2018 World Cup," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.
U.S. authorities said last week that their announcement was the beginning and not the end of the investigation. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the Department of Justice looked forward to continuing to work with other countries. Related Coverage
› Champagne calls for transparent debate on FIFA future › Ex-FIFA executive detailed bribes in 2013 secret guilty plea › SLIDESHOW FBI extends FIFA scrutiny to World Cup host bids of Russia, Qatar
BLATTER PRESSURE
A source close to FIFA said it was Blatter's advisers who had told him he must quit. Critics pointed to the widening criminal probe, disquiet among sponsors, and pressure from European soccer body UEFA as possible reasons.
The international police organization Interpol put two former top FIFA officials on its wanted list at the request of U.S. authorities.
Interpol issued wanted person alerts for Warner, a former president of CONCACAF, which governs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and Nicolas Leoz, the ex-head of South America's soccer federation.
The others subject to the "red notices" - which are not arrest warrants - are Alejandro Burzaco, Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, and Jose Margulies, a Brazilian who headed two companies involved in broadcasting soccer matches.
They are among FIFA officials and sports media and promotion executives named in the U.S. indictment. Related Video Video FIFA president steps down Video Blatter resignation rocks soccer world Video Blatter resigns days after re-election, arrests
FIFA has denied that another senior official, Secretary General Jerome Valcke, was involved in a $10 million payment appr2oved by the South African Football Association that lies at the heart of the U.S. investigation.
At a news conference in Johannesburg, sports minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed the payment to Warner during the bid process but denied it was a bribe. Mbalula said the cash was intended for football development in the Caribbean, Warner's home region.
Valcke said on Wednesday he was not guilty of corrupt practice relating to the payment and he saw no reason to resign.
Blatter announced his decision to step down six days after police raided a hotel in Zurich and arrested several FIFA officials, and four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term. Blatter has not been charged and FIFA did not respond to a request for comment on his being under investigation.
An election to choose a new president will probably not take place until at least December. Blatter, meanwhile, remains in his position.
FIFA executive committee member Kozo Tashima of Japan told Japanese media that Blatter should go at once.
Former England captain and Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham, who was a major figure in England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup, joined the chorus of calls for change at FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football.
"Some of the things that we now know happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game that we love so much," Beckham told Sky Sports. Related Coverage
› Beckham blasts FIFA over corruption scandal › Qatar says 'prejudice and racism' behind criticism of 2022 World Cup
In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Blatter's resignation was an opportunity for FIFA to improve its image.
"It's apparent from recent news reports they'd benefit from some new leadership and this is an opportunity for that organization to try to improve their public image and to make sure that the actions of that organization are consistent with their mission," Earnest said at a briefing with reporters.
LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES
Among potential candidates to lead FIFA, UEFA chief Michel Platini, a former French international soccer star, is the favorite.
Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who withdrew from last week's presidential election after winning 73 votes to Blatter's 133 in the first round, stopped short of confirming he would run again. Asked if there should be a fresh start at FIFA, he told Britain's Channel 4 News: "I'm willing to help."
Chung Mong-joon, billionaire scion of South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate, said he would consider running.
Possible candidates also include Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee.
Others could include former Brazil international Zico, Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, Jerome Champagne, a former French diplomat and FIFA deputy secretary general, and German Wolfgang Niersbach, an ex-media chief at FIFA.
(Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Peter Millership and Grant McCool) FIFA President Sepp Blatter addresses a news conference at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, June 2, 2015. Reuters/Ruben Sprich
Chinese authorities have investigated more than 2,200 government officials for involvement in major fiscal fraud, the country’s top auditor said Sunday.
Liu Jiayi, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), said this when he briefed lawmakers on the audit of the central government 2014 budget.
He said majority of violations took place in sectors involving public funds, state assets and state-owned resources, such as land and mining.
In particular, auditors found that over 780 billion Yuan originally earmarked for land transfers was misappropriated by officials to fill administrative expenses gaps, lent to others or used to construct new office buildings and venues. Violations were also detected in the transactions and approval of mining rights and in the use of key national special funds.
According to Liu, an audit that involved 2,448 mining rights suggested malpractices in about one third of the cases. He said separate probes revealed that close to 10 billion Yuan in urban security housing funds and some 1.7 billion Yuan in lottery were misappropriated or siphoned.
He said it was also discovered that intermediary agencies also played a vital role in cases where officials abused their power and colluded with outsiders.
For instance, Hunan development and reform commission chief economist, Yang Shifang, and his associates allegedly stole about 13 million Yuan by allowing three agencies run by their relatives to grant investment subsidies to ineligible companies.
The auditors also uncovered 5 billion Yuan in illegal gains by officials and their close associates who profited from privileged information concerning state-owned resources, development plans and stocks.
He cited an unnamed relative of former China Southern Power Grid deputy general manager Xiao Peng, who saw his stock market investment grow by 50 percent annually for eight consecutive years while sustaining no losses.
“Malpractice was also detected in news media coverage and in attracting foreign investment where under-the-table deals were sealed in the name of public welfare and government policy implementation,” Liu said.
Deliberating the report Sunday, Luo Liangquan, member of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, called for deepening reforms on fiscal and taxation system.
He also urged the government to strictly manage budgets, enhance the transparency in using public funds and intensify the fight against corruption.
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SO THE stubborn septuagenarian resigned from the tiddlywinks committee. Why all the fuss and headlines, some eye-rolling observers have been wondering? What does it matter who runs FIFA, football’s abstruse governing body, or where its tournaments are held? All these shenanigans, like the furores that occasionally erupt in other sports, are absurdly overblown. Football belongs on the back pages, not the front.
That view, common among sports non-enthusiasts, rests on the mistaken notion that corruption in sport is also a sort of game, in which rubicund rogues harmlessly siphon off gate receipts. Even many fans, perturbed by the disruption of their hobby, miss its real gravity. Because at bottom this is not a recreational issue but a criminal one. Neither harmless nor victimless, sports corruption is perpetrated by crooked officials, abusive governments and gangsters, sometimes in concert. It matters—and, welcome as Sepp Blatter’s demise is, the problem goes well beyond him, FIFA and football (see article). Sepp Blatter's exit is a necessary but insufficient condition for reform at FIFA
Corruption in sport has four main, related drivers. One is the needlessly pharaonic scale of mega sporting events. For kleptocratic regimes such as that of Russia—venue of last year’s ludicrously costly winter Olympics and, on current plans, of the football World Cup in 2018—these are superb opportunities to embezzle public funds. The victims are the host country’s short-changed taxpayers, pensioners and public services.
Second, top-level sport is now a global commodity, eliciting vast sums from marketeers and broadcasters (real-time sporting drama is one of the few remaining draws for live audiences). As the American inquiry that helped topple Mr Blatter suggests, kickbacks sometimes lubricate the fat contracts that arise. Thus sports corruption is inextricable from the wider scourge of corporate graft. A third factor is the under-regulated globalisation of gambling, and its exploitation by match-fixers and money-launderers. Dodgy betting is hardly new: the rigging of baseball’s World Series of 1919 is immortalised in “The Great Gatsby”. But worldwide fan bases and the internet have made it more rife and much more lucrative, attracting serious mafiosi from Asia and eastern Europe.
Last, the governance of too many sports is opaque, juicily monopolistic, badly monitored—and wholly unsuited to the big-money age. Some sports (such as professional tennis) and places (such as Finland and South Korea, which have cracked down on match-fixing in football) have caught up. Others have, like FIFA, proved ill-equipped to combat predation and too hospitable to unscrupulous officials. Football is not the only vulnerable game; scandal has struck pastimes as obscure as handball. Villainous politicians, such as some of the many involved in Indian cricket (a swamp of fixes and backhanders), are often in on the act.
Jail time, not yellow cards
In many ways globalisation has been a boon to sport, and not just for well-paid players and the car dealerships they patronise. It has produced higher standards, better stadiums and slicker spectacles. But to cope with the concomitant risks, sports need to be run as transparent, rigorous businesses. In some cases their rule-setting and game-nurturing functions should be split off from their marketing and event-organising roles. Corporate sponsors should be quicker than they have been in FIFA’s case to dissociate themselves from thievery.
Yet because sports corruption is a reflection of wider problems—sport merely being an organism to which criminal succubi attach themselves—it is too formidable for sporting organisations to tackle alone, even if they are inclined to. Precisely because it is a nexus for broader crime and malpractice, more governments and law-enforcement agencies should emulate America’s Justice Department (and India’s Supreme Court, which is trying to clean up cricket) by pursuing the embezzlers, bribe-payers and money-launderers, and dishing out serious punishments to those they catch. Too often the authorities have shared the misconception that corruption in sport is essentially benign. Worried about appearing killjoys, they have let it be. FIFA’s shame should mark the end of such naivety.
It’s time to wrap things up now. Thanks very much for reading and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the latest developments – it’s safe to say there will be many over the weekend. In summary
The FAI are expected to release another statement about the payment they received, according to the taoiseach, Enda Kenny. Mr Kenny described the payment as “quite extraordinary” and has called on John Delaney to explain the full story. Kenny has said his job remains tenable despite calls from some quarters for him to resign. The former Uefa president Lennart Johansson says Sepp Blatter must have known about a $10m payment to the former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner. More here. Warner also wanted a $7m bribe to vote for us as World Cup hosts, according to the Egyptian FA. Danny Jordaan, the South Africa World Cup organiser, is under growing pressure to come clean over a $10m payment. David Smith has the full story. And, finally, Greg Dyke predicts Blatter will be arrested but rules out England hosting the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.
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2d ago15:40 Blatter must have known about $10m payment to Warner, says Johansson
Sepp Blatter must have known about the $10m payment sent from a Fifa account to the disgraced former vice-president Jack Warner, the former Uefa president Lennart Johansson has claimed.
The money was sent in 2008 from Fifa to an account controlled by Warner following a request to the Fifa secretary general Jéröme Valcke from the South African Football Association. Warner’s former deputy Chuck Blazer has testified in court that the cash was a bribe for their votes for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup.
Read the story in full here. Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago15:22
Lennart Johansson says Sepp Blatter should not delay his departure and depart his role immediately. Johansson, who lost to the 79-year-old in the 1998 Fifa presidential election, said: “He must go immediately. People want us to be clean. You are seeing when he turned up at any match they were booing him. They really showed they were not satisfied.”
“I think the investigation going on has told him that they will find out exactly what was done and by whom,” added the former UEFA president. The election for a new president is not expected to take place until December.
Updated at 12.23am AEST Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago15:12 Warner wanted $7m bribe to vote for us as World Cup hosts, says Egypt Jack Warner, the former Fifa vice-president. Jack Warner, the former Fifa vice-president. Photograph: Alva Viarrue/EPA
The latest allegations of corruption to hit Fifa are coming from Egypt, who lost the bid to the 2010 World Cup to South Africa. According to an Egyptian sports official, the country refused to pay a $7m bribe to the former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner to help the north African state win.
Read the story in full.
Updated at 12.13am AEST Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago14:59 David Smith
David Smith South Africa World Cup organiser under growing pressure over $10m payment in Fifa scandal
Pressure is growing on Danny Jordaan, the organiser of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, to break his silence on the Fifa bribery scandal after a leaked letter revealed that he suggested a $10m payment to Caribbean football.
The country’s official opposition party called on Friday for Jordaan to be summoned to parliament to answer the corruption allegations regarding the winning bid to host the tournament.
Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association (Safa), was conspicuously absent from a press conference at its headquarters this week and has reportedly claimed that he has no reason to comment because his name is not mentioned in the US prosecutors’ indictment.
Read David Smith’s piece in full.
Updated at 12.00am AEST Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago14:35
The sports minister, Pascal Donohoe, has also called on Delaney and the FAI to clarify matters. “I can assure you that I had no knowledge of this transaction. I would be very surprised if any of my predecessors were aware of it ether. It is all for these reasons and it is in everybody’s interests that clarity be brought to these matters.” Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago14:15
Enda Kenny’s deputy, Joan Burton, said she found the story “intriguing, particularly the meeting where you have a few hot words and leave with €5 million in your pocket.” Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago14:09
The story continues to gather pace in Ireland – the FAI are expected to release another statement later today, according to an Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. He has told journalists that John Delaney has many questions to answer after the “quite extraordinary” payment but added that the FAI chief executive’s job is still tenable. Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago14:05
Here is more from Andy Hunter who is in Dublin in the build-up to the Republic of Ireland’s game with England on Sunday. Andy was that Keane’s briefing this morning. Facebook Twitter Google plus
2d ago14:02
At last! Currency clarification! Fifa has corrected its own statement about the previously secret payment five years agoI, saying it was indeed €5m and not $5m, as originally stated by the governing body. €5m was worth $7.1 million in January 2010.
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