FIFA: Firm to pay over $112m to settle corruption charges

Argentina-based Torneosy Competencias, one of the companies implicated in the ongoing investigation into widespread corruption at FIFA, have agreed to pay $112.76 million to settle charges.
An online portal, Insidethegames, said the company would forfeit $89 million and would pay a $23.76 million penalty as a result of their one count of wire fraud conspiracy.
According to the statement, the former head of the company, Alejandro Burzaco, pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in 2015.
The portal said Torneosy Competencias, founded in 1982 with  headquarters  in Buenos Aires, reached the agreement with prosecutors at a hearing at the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn.
It added that the company’s General Manager, Ignacio Galarza said the deals meant that the company could “start to leave this investigation’’.
The portal said the company was among those accused of soliciting kickbacks and bribes relating to marketing and media rights for major international football tournaments, such as the World Cups from 2018 to 2030.
It stated that the ongoing criminal investigation in the U.S., which has seen more than 40 officials indicted, largely centres on a total of $200 million in bribes and kickbacks.
According to the portal, 20 people have pleaded guilty, including former Honduran President Rafael Callejas and ex-FIFA vice-president Alfredo Hawit.
It noted that both officials were recently banned for life by FIFA’s Ethics Committee and are each facing jail sentences of up to 20 years.
The corruption scandal led to the departure of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter.