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LONDON. — A corrupt FIFA official worked undercover for investigators for 18 months while on the governing body’s executive committee, it has emerged.
Former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer went undercover to help US authorities expose corruption in football so he could avoid a potential prison sentence of 75 years.
That is what was revealed when Blazer’s plea bargain with prosecutors was made public on Monday night. Prosecutors released the details after a federal judge in New York ordered it should be unsealed. The document showed Blazer (70), the former general secretary of CONCACAF, soccer’s governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean, secretly pleaded guilty in November 2013 to 10 counts including conspiracies to commit racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
The charges carried a maximum concurrent imprisonment term of 75 years, but Blazer agreed to become an informant for the FBI and US justice department — and collect evidence implicating other Fifa executives — in return for immunity from prosecution.
Blazer admitted to earning more than $11million (£7m) in undeclared income between 2005 and 2010. He paid around $2m (£1.3m) in restitution in 2013 and will pay more when he is sentenced. The Justice Department had opposed making the agreement public, arguing it would prejudice the investigation. But US District Judge Raymond Dearie said: “The nature of Blazer’s cooperation, at least to the extent expressed in his agreement, should be removed from the shadows.” — Mailonline..
Online Reporter