FBI Investigate Blatter ISL Bribes Allegation

(ATR) Sepp Blatter’s involvement in the $100 million ISL scandal is under investigation by the FBI.

A BBC probe led by investigative reporter Andrew Jennings will on Monday night allege that the FIFA president had "full knowledge" of the bribes paid to his predecessor Joao Havelange and former FIFA ExCo member Ricardo Teixeira. The bungs allowed ISL, FIFA's now defunct marketing partners, to secure TV and marketing contracts in the 1990s.

Blatter has always strenuously denied knowing about the kickbacks for Havelange and Teixeira.

But in the Panorama documentary, titled 'FIFA, Sepp Blatter and Me', Jennings will refer to a letter he says is from Havelange which suggests Blatter was fully aware of the bribes. "I emphasize that Mr Blatter had full knowledge of all activities' and was 'always apprised' of them," the letter said, according to a BBC report.

FIFA's ethics committee closed its case on the ISL bribery scandal in April 2013, revealing Havelange's involvement - he accepted over $1.5 million in kickbacks from ISL - and that of Teixeira who pocketed more than $12 million. Havelange later quit FIFA as honorary president and also the IOC.

But the ethics probe cleared Blatter. The report of ethics chair Hans-Joachim Eckert labelled the FIFA president as "clumsy" for not being aware of the illegal payments.

"It must be questioned, however, whether President Blatter knew or should have known over the years before the bankruptcy of ISL that ISL had made payments to other FIFA officials.President Blatter's conduct could not be classified in any way as misconduct with regard to any ethics rules," Eckert's report said.

The current interim president of FIFA, Issa Hayatou, was accused of taking a backhander in a previousexposé of FIFA corruption by BBC journalist Jennings in a 2010 documentary called "FIFA's dirty secrets". He alleged that Hayatou accepted100,000 French Francs (about $20,340). The African football boss has always maintained that it was a gift for his confederation.

Blatter is currently suspended by FIFA's ethics committee amid a criminal investigation by Swiss authorities over another scandal involving a "disloyal" $2.1 million payment to UEFA president Michel Platini, who is also serving a provisional 90-day ban from football. They deny wrongdoing but face possible lifetime bans.

Today's Panorama documentary on FIFA will also include a focus on the corruption-tarnished 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contest. Former England 2018 bid leader David Triesman is said to allege that Qatar spent £117m on its bid for the 2022 World Cup, according to his British intelligence sources.

Last week, FIFA’s scandal hit its lowest ebb when the US Department of Justice announced that a further 16 FIFA officials - including five current or former members of the federation's ruling body - had been indicted as part of its investigation into a decades-long $200 million-plus bribery scandal.

At a press conference in Washington D.C, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch was asked if the FBI’s attentions would turn to Blatter. "The investigation continues and has many, many focuses and many, many individuals," she replied.

Written by Mark Bisson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribersonly.