More charges coming in FIFA probe
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch greets her Swiss counterpart, Michael Lauber, during a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday.
FIFA and embattled President Sepp Blatter faced more pressure Monday as U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch warned of new indictments in a widening investigation of corruption in international soccer.
“We do anticipate pursuing additional charges against individuals and entities,” Lynch said in FIFA’s home city of Zurich, citing unspecified new evidence gathered since the stunning May 27 arrests of seven people at a luxury hotel in the the Swiss city.
Lynch spoke at a news conference alongside her Swiss counterpart, Michael Lauber, whose separate investigation of money laundering appears equally threatening to FIFA and its soon-departing president.
Swiss federal agencies have now seized properties in the Swiss Alps and more evidence during house searches in western Switzerland, said Lauber, who last updated media on his case in June.
“Investment in real estate can be used for the purpose of money laundering,” said Lauber, whose case seems to lead beyond its original focus of FIFA’s criminal complaint about the 2018-2022 World Cup bidding contests.
A total of 121 bank accounts have been reported as suspicious by a Swiss financial intelligence unit to Lauber’s team of prosecutors, he said.
Lynch did not comment Monday on whether Blatter is targeted in her case, or if he faced arrest by traveling to a country that has an extradition treaty with the United States.
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