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 FIFA announced on Wednesday it was also seeking repayment of
salaries and a full audit of a former top official it says has
continued to live an "extravagant lifestyle" while on bail from a
New York Court.
The Swiss-based body, its global administration shaken by graft
charges and tales of lavish spending that toppled its former head,
said its U.S. lawyers had filed a restitution request on Tuesday
with federal prosecutors in New York.
In the document and an accompanying letter published by FIFA, it
demanded return of salaries and payment of damages.
"The defendants grossly abused their positions of trust to enrich
themselves...(and have) deeply tarnished the FIFA brand and impaired
FIFA's ability to use its resources for positive actions throughout
the world," the document said.
Ex-officials who have pleaded guilty have already agreed to pay more
than $190 million in forfeiture, according to U.S. authorities.
"These funds should be used to compensate the victims of the
defendants’ crimes, particularly FIFA and its member associations
and confederations," FIFA said.
The very future of FIFA has been put in question by the scandal,
with some demanding its abolition and replacement. The move for
recompense casts FIFA for the first time, under its new president,
prominently as plaintiff and victim.
FIFA is also asking U.S. officials for an audit of the assets of
Jeffrey Webb, a former president of CONCACAF, which governs soccer
in North and Central America and the Caribbean. FIFA THE VICTIM
FIFA lawyers wrote in a letter to U.S. prosecutors that Webb, who is
charged in alleged bribery schemes, was living an "extravagant
lifestyle" that included an expensive, casino-themed birthday party
for his wife since his release on bond.
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A lawyer for Webb declined to comment on the party, which was the
subject of a report last month by the Cayman News Service. Webb is
from the Cayman Islands.
In all, 42 sports officials, executives and corporate entities have
been charged in the United States under U.S. bribery and money
laundering laws. The defendants include former members of FIFA's
all-powerful executive committee and former heads of national and
continental governing bodies.
FIFA's ethics committee banned Blatter for six years, and last month
FIFA elected a new president, Gianni Infantino, and enacted changes
to its governance structure in an attempt to stamp out corruption.
FIFA also said it had incurred substantial legal costs and was
entitled to restitution for its attorney fees and similar costs that
directly flowed from the investigations.
(Reporting by Brian Homewood in Zurich and David Ingram in New York;
editing by Ralph Boulton)
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