DOJ returns confiscated funds to FIFA, Conmebol and Concacaf for US $ 200 million
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) will return confiscated funds to FIFA, Conmebol and Concacaf (collectively, the “Victims”) for more than $ 200 million in cash.
First, the Justice Department approved the remittance of more than $ 32 million in confiscated funds from the victims of the FIFA corruption case.
The Department has already granted a joint referral petition filed by the Victims, recognizing losses and granting referral up to a total of more than $ 201 million, of which $ 32.3 million in forfeited funds have been approved for initial distribution.
In total, well over the amount awarded has been seized and the United States has been or is expected to be confiscated in the Eastern District of New York as part of the government’s long-term investigation and prosecution of corruption in the international soccer.
To date, prosecutions have resulted in charges against more than 50 individual and corporate defendants from more than 20 countries, primarily in connection with the offering and receiving of kickbacks and kickbacks paid by sports marketing companies to soccer officials in return. of media and marketing rights to various soccer tournaments and events.
This announcement is the beginning of the process to return confiscated funds from the victims of the FIFA bribery scandal and marks the department’s continued commitment to ensuring justice for victims harmed by this scheme.
Confiscated funds
«The approval of this remittance of funds obtained illegally in the FIFA scandal marks another important milestone in these prosecutions and the department’s commitment to use all the tools at its disposal to prosecute corruption and deprive the perpetrators of ill-gotten gains» said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.
«This referral highlights the importance of asset forfeiture as a critical tool for recovering criminal assets and seeking justice,» he added.
On May 27, 2015, an indictment was opened charging 14 FIFA officials and sports marketing executives with extortion, honest services wire fraud and money laundering offenses, among others.
During the course of the prosecutions to date, 27 individual defendants have pleaded guilty for their role in the crimes charged.
In December 2017, two former FIFA officials, Juan Ángel Napout, from Paraguay, and José Maria Marin, from Brazil, were convicted following a trial for conspiracy for extortion and related crimes.
Four corporate entities have pleaded guilty and others, including banking institutions, have acknowledged their role in criminal conduct through deferred prosecution or non-prosecution.
