Three British Overseas Territories Implicated by The FBI In FIFA Corruption Scandal

Author

Jeevan A. Robinson

Release Date

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

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Since this FIFA corruption story broke last week, MNI Alive Media considered whether any British Overseas Territory (BoT) within the Caribbean were implicated in the FIFA scandal? A scandal that is heading towards epic proportions, with FIFA President-elect, Sepp Blatter, resigning just three days after winning re-election.

The Caribbean falls under the umbrella of CONCACAF, which is controlled by FIFA. CONCACAF is the federation that represents North and Central America, and the Caribbean's footballing interests.

The allegations of corruption via bribes and kickbacks within CONCACAF has plagued FIFA for years, prior to this FBI investigation. Jack Warner's name has been raised numerous times with allegations of bribery and kickbacks plaguing him continually as one-time President of CONCACAF.

Today, in light of the concerns we harboured here at MNI Alive Media to do with CONCACAF, our research has brought us to some very revealing information. Information, that consequently has been featured also in the much respected, Guardian Newspaper, published in the United Kingdom.

The report in The Guardian released on Saturday, May 30th, 2015 points towards revelations in the 164-page US Department of Justice indictment of FIFA officials. It states that three BoTs to include the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) - which, beyond coincidence, are all tax havens – "allegedly played a part in masking kickbacks between officials and executives."

According to the report, a gentleman named Costas Takkas, a UK citizen who acted as attaché to Fifa’s vice-president, Jeffrey Webb, "used a firm registered in the BVI, and with bank accounts in the Cayman Islands, to allegedly facilitate illegal payments between a South American sports marketing agency, Traffic, and Fifa officials."

The FBI indictment outlines very clearly; "On or about November 21, 2012, two wire transfers, of $750,000 and $250,000, were sent from Front Company A’s account at HSBC bank in Hong Kong to a correspondent account at Standard Chartered Bank in New York for credit to an account in the name of Kosson Ventures, controlled by Takkas, at Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands".

Further revelations are that a $500,000 payment, allegedly made to Webb was made "through the account of another individual, a business associate of Co-Conspirator #2, to another account controlled by the defendant Costas Takkas at Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands".

The Cayman Islands seem to feature very heavily in the FIFA illegal payments racket. What the Guardian report has revealed is that the Cayman Islands "played a role in a bribery scheme to allegedly persuade Fifa officials to vote for the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa."

Former CONCACAF head man, Jack Warner's name again features heavily. In this report, Warner is alleged to have promised one official $1m in return for that official backing South Africa's bid. (see earlier story MNI Alive published on South Africa's 2010 World Cup bid here)

Claims within the indictment, are "that a first payment of $298,500 was made by wire transfer sent on or about December 19, 2008 … to a Bank of America correspondent account in New York, New York, for credit to an account controlled by Co-Conspirator #1 at a bank in the Cayman Islands".

The name of Costas Takkas features very prominently in the investigation into the movement of funds within the BoT's, and namely the Cayman islands. Going back to the US indictment of FIFA officials, it states that in 2012 when a successor to Jack Warner for President of CONCACAF was being explored, the gentleman Jeffrey Webb, who emerged as frontrunner, " was shown support from an executive at Traffic USA by allegedly causing $50,000 to be paid from Traffic USA’s operating account to a Caymanian company" controlled by the same individual, Takkas.

The indictment additionally states that, in 1999, "Traffic caused $200,000 to be wired to a correspondent account at Barclays Bank in New York, for credit to an account held in the name of an entity controlled by Co-Conspirator #1 at Barclays Bank in the Cayman Islands."

But where did all this money go, many are wondering? Surely, it can be easy to check accounts and uncover the alleged gains.

Reports surfacing is that much of the funds that have gone through these BoTs were allegedly siphoned off into property purchases.

The report in The Guardian states in this regard; "Takkas transferred funds from his Kosson Ventures account at Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands to SunTrust Bank in the US, allegedly to help Webb buy luxury homes in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The use of Kosson Ventures in the scheme was "intended to conceal the fact that the defendant Jeffrey Webb was the beneficiary of the payment", according to the US prosecutors.

As Sepp Blatter today announced his decision to resign as FIFA President, despite being re-elected as recently as Friday May 29, 2015, the investigations and revelations into FIFA's corrupt practices will be dominating the headlines of the sports world with much interest. The allegations pertaining to CONCACAF will also be watched with interest as many wonder just how deeply within the British Overseas Territories, and by extension too, other CONCACAF nations, that FIFA's web of payments, misuse of funds and bribery scandal goes.






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