In a move that surprises few in the international soccer community, Swiss authorities have announced that they have opened a formal criminal investigation into FIFA president Sepp Blatter, based upon “suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation."
Blatter, who announced his resignation from as president of FIFA in early June (but has yet to formally follow through with the promise), has avoided prosecution following the arrest of 14 high ranking FIFA officials in May in a federal corruption probe spearheaded by the FBI and Swiss law enforcement officials. Now authorities have brought forth evidence of violations by Blatter of his fiduciary duty as president when he signed over lucrative World Cup television rights to Jack Warner, a former FIFA official who was one of those arrested in May.
Furthermore, following an interrogation of Blatter and seizing of data from his private computer, investigators now claim that Blatter is suspected of making over $2 million dollars worth of "disloyal payments" to UEFA president Michel Platini. These funds was supposedly made for work performed between 1999-2002, but their payment was not executed until almost a decade later in February 2011. Ironically, Platini is one of the leading candidates to replace Blatter as FIFA president.
In the event that Blatter is charged, the question becomes whether or not federal prosecutors can extradite him to face trial in the United States? Generally, extradition to the the United States is unlikely to be a major obstacle assuming that the country making the arrest cooperates with the process. As seen during the war on terrorism, the US Justice Department have almost carte blanche authority to bring indictments against foreign nationals living abroad. Such cases can depend on a minimal connection between the accused and United States, including travel to and from the country or even the usage of an American bank. That being said, the extradition process can take months (and even years) and so many wonder whether it is even worth it assuming that Blatter would face the same harsh punishments in a Swiss Court. Of course, if Blatter escapes to country that does not have an extradition agreement with the US, all bets are off.
Jason Belzer is Founder of GAME, Inc. and a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Sports Law at Rutgers University. Follow him on Twitter @JasonBelzer.
