FIFA’s Blatter hires U.S. lawyer for corruption probe

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has hired a high-powered U.S. lawyer to represent him as a corruption probe rocks soccer’s global governing body, a person familiar with the matter said. It was unclear whether Blatter’s decision to hire a top U.S. lawyer indicated increased scrutiny of him by U.S. authorities. It is common in the United States for even potential witnesses to seek legal advice if they can afford it in order to protect their rights.

Should new evidence come to light my team will widen the group of suspects.

FIFA ethics prosecutor Cornel Borbely

FIFA was put under more pressure Wednesday as the scale of a separate Swiss investigation of suspected money laundering was revealed. Banks in Switzerland have flagged up 53 possible acts of money-laundering that could be linked to FIFA’s 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests, the country’s attorney-general said. In a further sign of legal attacks on FIFA picking up pace, the ethics prosecutor of world soccer’s ruling body later confirmed he expected an increased workload linked to the 2018 and 2022 case. Some of the 53 transactions are among 104 incidents previously notified to Swiss and American federal authorities.

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