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FIFA indictment: Seedy inner workings and how one bribe led to the next

On May 15, 2004, FIFA's executive committee held a vote to select the host nation for the 2010 World Cup. In the running were South Africa, Egypt and Morocco.

Among those in the room that day were Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, each of whom had a vote.

Several months earlier, Warner, former president of CONCACAF, and Blazer, the former CONCACAF general secretary, travelled to Morocco and met with a member of the country's bid committee. During the meeting, the Moroccan official offered Warner $1 million in exchange for his vote.

Chuck Blazer plead guilty to racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. (AP)
Chuck Blazer plead guilty to racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. (AP)

Little did the Moroccan official know his bribe wasn't even close; South African officials were prepared to do 10 times better, offering Warner $10 million.

South Africa eventually won the bid, getting votes from Warner, Blazer and one other associate who were all allegedly in on the fix.

This is just one in a laundry list of corruption schemes laid out in the U.S. Justice Department's indictment that on Wednesday led to the arrest of 14 current and former FIFA officials.

The 164-page indictment is filled with the seedy inner workings of soccer's power brokers, who exploited their positions to line their own pockets with not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of dollars, much of which found its way to bank branches in the United States – hence the U.S. government's involvement.

The bribery, at least for purposes in this particular indictment, began as most would suspect: with opportunity.

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As far as media was concerned, soccer wasn't necessarily huge business in the 1980s. Broadcast rights for the Copa America, a tournament featuring South American teams, went for $1.7 million in 1987.

Then in 1991, Traffic Brazil, which held the broadcast rights in '87, re-upped with CONMEBOL (South America's soccer federation) for $2.2 million per for three tournaments. But at the announcement ceremony, CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz didn't sign the contract. Later, in a private meeting, Leoz explained to Jose Hawilla, founder of Traffic, that Hawilla "would make a lot of money from the rights and that [Leoz] did not think it was fair that he [Leoz] did not make money also," according to the indictment. Leoz then told Hawilla "he would not sign the contract if [Hawilla] did not agree to pay him a bribe."

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That first bribe turned out to be six figures, rising each year thereafter, ultimately reaching seven figures, which was funneled directly to a bank account specified by Leoz.

And with that, the door flung open, with others holding any sort of influence, getting in on the action.

Rafael Esquivel, then president of the Venezuelan soccer federation, demanded $1 million for his continued support for Traffic to be the exclusive Copa America rights holder.

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Traffic also agreed to pay millions to the Argentinian Football Association in order to guarantee the AFA would send its best players. The money, however, didn't go to the AFA, but to a travel agency that funneled it to an AFA and FIFA official.

And on and on it went.

The indictment highlights:

• The CONCACAF Gold Cup Scheme, in which Traffic funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to assure worldwide rights of the tournament that determines the North and Central American champion.

• The CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Scheme, in which Leoz solicited bribes for his support of a marketing agency to sell sponsorship for yet another South American tournament.

• The CBF Copa do Brasil Scheme, which resulted in nearly $1 million in bribes to officials who in return backed yet another marketing agency.

Scheme after scheme after scheme, with six-figure bribes changing hands via wire transfer, laundering and checks flown in on international flights.

In 2011, Warner, seemingly at the center of the biggest kickbacks, allegedly received a wire transfer of $363,537.98 for his support of an unnamed FIFA official's candidacy for the FIFA presidency. For the price, Warner organized a meeting for the FIFA official to address regional officials from, among other places, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. After the address, Warner told the officials they could pick up a "gift," which turned out to be $40,000 cash.

And the bribes only gained more digits before the decimal point.

Jeffrey Webb, who vowed to clean up corruption when taking over as CONCACAF president in 2012, demanded $3 million from Traffic to secure rights for 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Webb demanded another $1.1 million for awarding Traffic rights to the 2012 Gold Cup/Champions League and $2 million more for the 2013 contract.

In May of 2013, CONMEBOL officials demanded $100 million in bribe money from Datisa, a newly formed company comprising of three separate marketing businesses, which obtained rights to the Copa America; the CONMEBOL officials eventually got $110 million.

The schemes listed in the indictment run from letters A through L, 12 in all, ending with the Datisa scheme.

Following a press conference in South Florida to announce the Datisa deal, the principals involved discussed their secret.

"All can get hurt because of this subject," said Alejandro Burzaco, controlling principal of Top Play, which made up one third of Datisa. "All of us go to prison."

View the entire indictment below:

FIFA Indictments