ZURCH, Switzerland (CelebrityAccess) — International soccer governing body FIFA revealed that three former top officials had arranged to pay themselves salary and bonuses totaling $80 million, including tens of millions in payments that were quietly approved last May, just days after a group of senior FIFA officials were indicted on corruption charges.
A statement released by FIFA says the contracts for compensation to former FIFA President Joseph Blatter, former Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, and former Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner, who also served as FIFA’s Chief Financial Officer were discovered as a part of an internal audit
“The evidence appears to reveal a coordinated effort by three former top officials of FIFA to enrich themselves through annual salary increases, World Cup bonuses and other incentives totaling more than CHF 79 million – in just the last five years,” said Bill Burck, a partner with Quinn Emanuel, the law firm conducting the audits.
The new allegations announced by FIFA on Friday paint a bleak picture of corruption at the organization:
The news of the auditor's report comes after Swiss authorities conducted a new raid on FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into possible corruption and the abrupt resignation of auditor Domenico Scala, who alleged that FIFA's new president, Gianni Infantino had worked to weaken FIFA's independent auditors.
In a statement to the New York Times, Blatter's attorney Richard Cullen, said, “We look forward to showing FIFA that Mr. Blatter’s compensation payments were proper, fair and in line with the heads of major professional sports leagues around the world.” – Staff Writers
