The U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment Wednesday that charges 47 individuals, including FIFA officials, with bribery, racketeering, money laundering, fraud and other related crimes. While many of the details are still unclear, it appears that many of these alleged crimes were neither committed in the United States nor by U.S. citizens:
“The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” said Attorney General Lynch. “It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable. Today’s action makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice – and we look forward to continuing to work with other countries in this effort.”
Why is it that the United States can prosecute non-citizens who work for an organization located in Switzerland and who are accused of taking bribes abroad? Philip Bump explains that there are U.S. statutes that that can target foreign citizens for crimes committed abroad as long as these foreign citizens have some ties to the United States. An especially important legal instrument is the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The Justice Department (for criminal investigations) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) frequently use this law: For instance, the law was used to levy heavy fines against German companies, registered with the New York Stock Exchange, that bribed foreign government officials to win contracts.
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