The FBI’s probe into FIFA’s corruption includes the bidding processes of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to Reuters.
The FBI is leading an investigation into racketeering and fraud charges by FIFA executives, but now it includes “the scrutiny of awarding the FIFA World Cup to Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.”
Swiss officials are also examining both World Cup bids to see if they were, in fact, awarded under false pretenses.
This news comes just one day after current FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that he’ll be leaving office in the coming months.
FIFA is also facing more scrutiny after Blatter’s secretary general Jerome Valcke was accused of authorizing $10 million in bribes in exchange for World Cup votes from South African officials (who later denied the allegations). The organization said that the payment was authorized by the former chairman of the Argentinean football association Julio Grondona, who passed away last year.
FIFA said that the payment was authorized by the former chairman of the Argentinean football association Julio Grondona, who passed away last year.
The latest incident involving Valcke is apparently what led to Blatter’s resignation on Tuesday, among other events.
Earlier Wednesday, INTERPOL announced that they added six men linked to the FIFA corruption case to its most wanted list.