Panorama

[Montse]

An interesting programme looking into the shady dealings surrounding the awarding of WC contracts, the votes for Blatters presidency and a one stop shop in Trinidad - anyone see it?

 

Fifa president in bribery probe

 

By Andrew Jennings

Panorama reporter

Fifa President Sepp Blatter is being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials, BBC Panorama revealed in a programme screened on Sunday 11 June 2006.

 

Panorama interviewed employees of the bankrupt ISL marketing company who confirmed the company had paid bribes to Fifa officials over a period of nearly 20 years.

 

Fifa headquarters were raided by Investigating Magistrate Thomas Hildbrand last November and documents seized from the offices of President Blatter and his General Secretary, Urs Linsi.

 

Mr Blatter refused to be interviewed by Panorama - but has denied all the allegations.

 

The Swiss authorities will not discuss Hildbrand's investigation but Panorama has discovered he was in court in mid-April obtaining an order to acquire documents to further his inquiries.

 

'Evidence of bribery'

 

The ISL company was set up in 1982 and soon acquired the marketing and television rights to the Olympic Games, the World athletics championships and the football World Cup.

 

Rumours have circulated for years that senior sports officials took bribes in return for these lucrative contracts.

 

ISL collapsed in 2001 and when the liquidator took over the company's bank records he found evidence of bribes.

 

Some officials repaid the money but when others declined, the liquidator went to court. The result was a secret deal in early 2004 to repay more.

 

Magistrate Hildbrand is investigating the possibility that Fifa repaid the bribes - not the officials who took them in the first place.

 

'Vote-rigging'

 

ISL insiders tell Panorama that the bribes were paid systematically - 'like salaries' said one, through a secretive Liechtenstein foundation and an offshore bank account in the Caribbean

 

Panorama was banned from Fifa press conferences for asking questions about corruption.

 

And things got a little rough when we went to the Caribbean to investigate World Cup ticket rackets and tried to interview Fifa vice-president Jack Warner.

 

The programme also reveals how vote-rigging helped put president Sepp Blatter in power.

 

Even as Fifa officials secure the best seats in German stadiums, they know that Swiss investigator Hildbrand may soon be asking some of them to help him further with his inquiries.

 

 

The Panorama documentary, The Beautiful Bung - Corruption and the World Cup was broadcast Sunday 10 June on BBC One at 2215 BST. A transcript will be posted on this site. Unfortunately due to rights issues we are unable to offer this film on demand on the website.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/5070224.stm

[Candystore]

Anyone watch this?

[Montse]

Yes I did, was very interesting esp the bit about the CONCAF or whatever its name is, Trinidad president recieving rent from CONCAF coiffers for offices he owned, owning the travel agency that Trinidad were using for the WC and basically getting backhanders and making shady deals all over the place. Blatter and Johansson came across as totally shady characters that denied any evidence of corruption within the organisation.

 

Swiss police are looking into it so it remains to be seen if anything comes from it