Two former executives of the American company Fox and the Argentine agency Full Play respond before the New York court as of this Tuesday for charges of corruption, bank fraud and money laundering, in the framework of the mega bribery scandal at FIFA that broke out in 2015 .
Source: AFP
The Mexican Carlos Martinez Y Argentine Hernan Lopez -both also with US nationality-, who worked in the company 21st Century Foxand the Argentine sports marketing agency appear before the judge Pamela Chen in a trial that will last between four and six weeks in the Brooklyn court where other defendants have already been tried in the so-called ‘FIFAgate’which shook the foundations of the international soccer gendarme in 2015.
The prosecution opened the field with the allegations: “This bribery system lasted for years through generation of leaders, because money corrupts and money is good,” said Víctor Zapana.
The indictment maintains that the three in the dock participated in a scheme to pay bribes to Latin American soccer managers, particularly from Conmebolto secure lucrative broadcasting rights to Copa Libertadores and Copa América matches, as well as World Cup qualifying and friendlies.
They spent “millions of dollars in bribes”, which circulated through “the banks of the world”. “Everyone won, except for the sport of soccer,” Zapana said.
defense of fullplay he blamed executives from South American soccer associations who “systematically demanded payments.”
Also accused in the same case, among others, is the Spanish Gerard Romy, former president of the sports company Imagina, who has not appeared before the US justice system.
millionaire bribes
The scandal known as ‘FIFAgate’ uncovered by the United States in May 2015 exposed a scheme of millionaire bribes paid by sports marketing companies to Latin American soccer leaders in exchange for rights to television broadcasts and tournament promotion.
The US Attorney’s Office has charged 45 people and several sports companies from more than 90 crimes and paying or accepting more than $200 million in bribes.
From them, 27 pleaded guilty -four have died-, and half a dozen have been sentenced.
Three others have pleaded not guilty. and they went to a historic trial in New York at the end of 2017: the former boss of Brazilian soccer Jose Marin and the former president of Paraguayan soccer and Conmebol Juan Angel Napout were declared guilty and imprisonedwhile the former head of Peruvian soccer Manuel Burga was acquitted.
Last September, the former president of the Salvadoran Football Federation, Reynaldo Vasquezto 16 months in prison for accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for television rights to the selection of that country.
According to the Brooklyn court, Vásquez received, along with other Salvadoran soccer officials, $350,000 from an American company in exchange for the sale of the broadcast rights to the qualifying and friendly matches of the national team for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
A dozen are still in their countries, where they were prosecuted by the local courts or are free while they fight extradition.
In addition, four companies pleaded guilty, two others reached deferred prosecution agreements and two others paid fines.
