In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corruption developments in the past month with links to primary resources. This month some major anti-corruption cases, both Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and non-FCPA related, have dominated the headlines and are reflected in our coverage. In addition, a number of government officials on both sides of the Atlantic have been on the speaking circuit, and we have captured some of the highlights from their speeches. Here is our May 2015 Top Ten list:
1. FIFA Officials and Sports Marketing Executives Indicted for Racketeering, Wire Fraud, and Corruption. On May 27, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a press release and held a news conference to announce the unsealing of a 47-count criminal indictment (“Indictment”) against fourteen defendants, including nine former and current officials of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The charged offenses include racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies related to alleged corruption in the commercialization of media and marketing rights associated with various FIFA soccer matches and tournaments. DOJ announced at the same time the unsealing of related guilty pleas of six other defendants (four individuals and two corporations). The Indictment alleges a twenty-four year scheme, involving over $150 million in bribe payments and kickbacks paid by sports marketing executives in exchange for the “official support” of the indicted FIFA officials. The charges primarily focus on alleged corruption involving one of FIFA’s six constituent continental confederations, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Other alleged schemes relate to the purported payment and receipt of bribes and kickbacks in connection with the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup and the alleged procurement of votes in favor of a high-ranking official of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in the 2011 FIFA presidential election...
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