Need-to-know 'lowlights' of FIFA indictment

As you no doubt know by now, the Department of Justice's indictment against 14 members or associates of FIFA rocked the soccer world on Wednesday, and the investigation unearthed systemic corruption in the allocation of broadcast and marketing rights to the Copa America, Gold Cup, Copa Libertadores, Copa Do Brasil and CONCACAF Champions League. Irregularities in the voting for the awarding of the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 FIFA presidential election were also uncovered.

[FC Yahoo: Inside the FIFA indictment and how one bribe led to the next]

A day after FIFA's greatest scandal yet was blasted into the ether, for the world to gawk at the stunning immorality, we took some time to actually read through the 164-page thing. That way you won't have to.

Because, believe us, you'd want to take a shower afterward. And water is a precious commodity these days.

[Dan Wetzel: What FIFA indictments could mean for U.S.'s 2026 World Cup bid]

So in the interest of preserving both water and your belief in humanity, here's a summary – the lowlights, if you will – of some of the more egregious passages. While this is hardly a complete account, it's representative. And it should give you a picture of the alleged corruption and a sense of the indictment's tenor and tone.

• "The defendant [former CONMEBOL president] EUGENIO FIGUEREDO … maintained a residence in the United States, specifically in Arcadia, California. According to a naturalization application FIGUEREDO filed in 2005 with U.S. immigration authorities, beginning in 1997 FIGUEREDO worked in "sales" at a "decorative rock" business in Irwindale, California. In his application, FIGUEREDO falsely affirmed under penalty of perjury that (a) he neither worked anywhere else in the previous five years nor ever had any affiliation with any organization or association in the United States or in any other place; and (b) he was exempt from the required English language and civics exams because of a mental disability. Prior to obtaining his U.S. citizenship in August 2006, FIGUEREDO submitted documentation explaining his mental disability that falsely stated that he had severe dementia."

• "The conduct engaged in by various members of the conspiracy included, among other things: the use of "consulting services" agreements and other similar types of contracts to create an appearance of legitimacy for illicit payments; the use of various mechanisms, including trusted intermediaries, bankers, financial advisors, and currency dealers, to make and facilitate the making of illicit payments; the creation and use of shell companies, nominees, and numbered bank accounts in tax havens and other secretive banking jurisdictions; the active concealment of foreign bank accounts; the structuring of financial transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements; bulk cash smuggling; the purchase of real property and other physical assets; the use of safe deposit boxes; income tax evasion; and obstruction of justice."

[FC Yahoo: Meet the American informant in FBI's investigation of FIFA corruption]

• "The corruption of the enterprise became endemic. Certain defendants and co-conspirators rose to power, unlawfully amassed significant personal fortunes by defrauding the organizations they were chosen to serve, and were exposed and then either expelled from those organizations or forced to resign. Other defendants and co-conspirators came to power in the wake of scandal, promising reform. Rather than repair the harm done to the sport and its institutions, however, these defendants and co-conspirators quickly engaged in the same unlawful practices that had enriched their predecessors."

• "Beginning in the early 1990s, as the value of the rights associated with the Copa América increased, various CONMEBOL officials, including the defendant [then-CONMEBOL president] NICOLÁS LEOZ, began soliciting bribe payments from Co-Conspirator #2 in exchange for the performance of various acts, including the renewal of the Copa América contract. Co-Conspirator #2 agreed to pay. Over time, Co-Conspirator #2 agreed to pay and paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to CONMEBOL officials in connection with, among other things, the Copa América contracts, media and marketing rights to other South American soccer tournaments, and sponsorship rights acquired by United States sportswear companies."

[FC Yahoo: Will FIFA corruption probe bring any change to Sepp Blatter's reign?]

• "In or about April 2013, following the defendant NICOLÁS LEOZ's resignation, the defendant EUGENIO … assumed the CONMEBOL presidency and LEOZ's place as a vice president on the FIFA executive committee. Shortly after the elevation of FIGUEREDO to these positions, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, and the sports marketing companies controlled by Co-Conspirator #2 and the defendants [soccer media executives] ALEJANDRO BURZACO, HUGO JINKIS, and MARIANO JINKIS, consummated a scheme to obtain a suite of valuable rights from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL officials in exchange for an agreement to pay $110 million in bribes."

• "On or about January 23, 1991, there was a signing ceremony at CONMEBOL headquarters in Asunción with other CONMEBOL officials. At that time, Co-Conspirator #2 signed the contract on behalf of Traffic, as did two other CONMEBOL officials. The defendant NICOLÁS LEOZ did not sign at that time. Thereafter, in a private meeting, LEOZ told Co-Conspirator #2, in sum and substance, that Co-Conspirator #2 would make a lot of money from the rights he was acquiring and that LEOZ did not think it was fair that he (LEOZ) did not also make money. LEOZ told Co-Conspirator #2 that he would not sign the contract if Co-Conspirator #2 did not agree to pay him a bribe. After Co-Conspirator #2 agreed to make the payment, LEOZ signed the contract. Co-Conspirator #2 caused the payment – a six-figure U.S. dollar payment – to be made to an account designated by LEOZ."

• "At the defendant [former CONCACAF president] JACK WARNER's request, Traffic USA executives, including Co-Conspirator #4, Co-Conspirator #9, and Co-Conspirator #13, created another document purporting to be a contract with TTFF [Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation] for the same rights Traffic USA had purchased as part of its deal with CFU [Caribbean Football Union]. WARNER signed these contracts, which were typically negotiated at the same time as the CFU contracts, as "special advisor" to TTFF. Rather than paying the full value of CFU's contract to CFU and its member associations, Traffic USA executives, including Co-Conspirator #4, at the defendant JACK WARNER's request, diverted a substantial portion of that value to an account controlled by WARNER, purportedly as payment on Traffic USA's contract with TTFF. For example, the 2006 World Cup qualifiers contract provided that Traffic USA was to pay CFU a base price of $900,000 for the media rights covered by the contract, which included the media rights owned by TTFF. At the same time, Traffic USA entered into a contract with TTFF providing that Traffic USA would pay TTFF $800,000 for the same TTFF rights it had purchased as part of its contract with CFU. … The defendant JACK WARNER concealed the existence of the TTFF contracts from the CFU member associations.

[Dan Wetzel: While FIFA probe is celebrated, a horrific scandal continues in Qatar]

• In the months before the selection of the host nation for the 2010 World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in May 2004, the defendant JACK WARNER and Co-Conspirator #1 [former CONCACAF general secretary and FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer] traveled to Morocco as they had done in 1992, in advance of the voting for the 1998 World Cup host. While in Morocco during the 2004 trip, a representative of the Moroccan bid committee offered to pay $1 million to WARNER in exchange for his agreement to cast his secret ballot on the FIFA executive committee for Morocco to host the 2010 World Cup. Subsequently, Co-Conspirator #1 learned from the defendant JACK WARNER that high-ranking officials of FIFA, the South African government, and the South African bid committee, including Co-Conspirator #16, were prepared to arrange for the government of South Africa to pay $10 million to CFU to "support the African diaspora." Co-Conspirator #1 understood the offer to be in exchange for the agreement of WARNER, Co-Conspirator #1, and Co-Conspirator #17 to all vote for South Africa, rather than Morocco, to host the 2010 World Cup. At the time, Co-Conspirator #17, like WARNER and Co-Conspirator #1, was a FIFA executive committee member. In FIFA's executive committee vote held on May 15, 2004, South Africa was selected over Morocco and Egypt to host the 2010 World Cup. The defendant JACK WARNER, Co-Conspirator #1, and Co-Conspirator #17 indicated that they voted for South Africa. … At one point, Co-Conspirator #1 learned that the South Africans were unable to arrange for the payment to be made directly from government funds. Arrangements were thereafter made with FIFA officials to instead have the $10 million sent from FIFA – using funds that would otherwise have gone from FIFA to South Africa to support the World Cup – to CFU.

• On May 10, 2011, Co-Conspirator #7 [Mohamed Bin Hammam] addressed the member associations regarding his candidacy, stating, among other things, that he was seeking their support in the June 1, 2011 FIFA presidential election. Following Co-Conspirator #7's address, the defendant JACK WARNER advised the CFU officials that they could pick up a "gift" that afternoon at a conference room in the hotel. During the afternoon of May 10, 2011, certain CFU officials, including an official of one of the member associations of a United States territory ("Official #1"), went to the appointed conference room, as directed by the defendant JACK WARNER. The officials were instructed by CFU staff members in the room to enter the room one at a time. Inside the room, CFU staff handed each official an envelope bearing the name of the member association that he represented. Inside each envelope was $40,000 in United States currency. The following day, May 11, 2011, the defendant JACK WARNER convened a meeting of the CFU officials prior to the scheduled start time. At the meeting WARNER stated that the U.S. currency the members had received was from Co-Conspirator #7, and that WARNER had advised Co-Conspirator #7 to allow CFU staff to distribute the money so that it would not "even remotely appear that anybody has any obligation for your vote because of what gift you have given them." WARNER further stated that a representative of one of the CFU member associations had contacted CONCACAF offices in New York to advise Co-Conspirator #1 of the payments. WARNER was angry that the representative had done this. WARNER stated, "There are some people here who think they are more pious than thou. If you're pious, open a church, friends. Our business is our business."

• "Near the end of the negotiations, Co-Conspirator #4 met with the defendant COSTAS TAKKAS, a close associate of the defendant JEFFREY WEBB, in Hungary. TAKKAS told Co-Conspirator #4 that WEBB wanted a $3 million bribe in exchange for his agreement to cause the CFU contract to be awarded to Traffic USA. Co-Conspirator #4 agreed.