Swiss authorities arrest 7 FIFA officials in corruption probe

Pressure mounted on football's ruling body FIFA Wednesday as police detained seven football officials in Zurich on US bribery charges, while prosecutors seized FIFA documents in a separate probe over the 2018 and 2022 World Cup decisions.
The separate but coordinated investigations came shortly before the expected re-election of FIFA president Joseph Blatter, who seeks a fifth term on Friday in spite of criticism of FIFA's governance amid a series of scandals in recent years, according to dpa.
Switzerland's Federal Prosecution Authority said it had collected electronic files and documents at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, on suspicion that bribes were paid in connection with the decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar.
The seized documents, as well as banking files that prosecutors obtained, will be used for "Swiss and foreign criminal procedures," the prosecutors said.
They plan to question 10 members of the FIFA Executive Committee who were involved in the World Cup decision in 2010.
No one has yet been charged, and the 10 will be questioned as witnesses, not suspects.
The charges had been brought by FIFA itself, which is the injured party in this case.
In a separate US-based investigation, seven mostly Latin American football officials were arrested by Swiss police, as FIFA delegates were gathered at the Baur au Lac hotel ahead of their annual congress opening Thursday.
FIFA delegates and functionaries of FIFA sub-organisations are charged with taking bribes from representatives of media and sports promotion firms totalling more than 100 million dollars since the early 1990s, in return for awarding media and marketing rights for US and Latin American tournaments, the Swiss Justice Department said.
Jeffrey Webb, who is FIFA vice president and executive committee member as well as president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean football federation CONCACAF, was among the detainees.
The list also includes Uruguay's Eugenio Figueredo, another FIFA vice president and former president of the South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL, Swiss authorities said.
The US Justice Department has indicted a total of nine current and former football officials on US corruption charges.
"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States," US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.
The alleged criminal acts were agreed and prepared in the US, and payments were carried out via US and Swiss banks, according to the US investigation.
Switzerland has frozen several Swiss bank accounts.
CONCACAF headquarters in Miami, Florida were also being searched, the US Justice Department said.
FIFA president Blatter was not arrested.
Blatter, 79, is widely expected to be re-elected for a fifth term as FIFA president when the congress votes on Friday. He is being opposed in the election by Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
"Today is a sad day for football," Prince Ali said in a statement.
FIFA plans to go ahead with its congress and the election despite the arrests and the World Cup probe, spokesman Walter De Gregorio told a packed news conference in Zurich.
De Gregorio said Blatter is not affected by the probes and remains relaxed.
"He is not dancing in his office. But he knows it is the consequence of what we initiated," he said. "FIFA initiated the process on November 18 by lodging a federal complaint ... This is good. It is obviously not good in terms of image and reputation but good for cleaning up."
Four defendants and two indicted companies in the marketing rights case have already pleaded guilty, the US Justice Department said.
They include Charles "Chuck" Blazer, the former CONCAFAF general secretary and former US representative on the FIFA executive committee; as well as Jose Hawilla, owner of Brazil-based sports marketing firm Traffic Group. Two of Hawilla's companies also pleaded guilty.