Putin Lashes U.S. on FIFA Probe

Putin: FIFA-linked arrests are US attempt to thwart Blatter re-election

May 28, 2015 – rt.com

Vladimir PutinThe FIFA-linked arrests on the eve of the re-election of the organization’s chief are an obvious attempt to thwart Sepp Blatter’s re-appointment, Vladimir Putin said, answering journalists’ questions. He added it’s another example of US meddling abroad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the US could be selfishly motivated for its own gain, as was the case with Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.

“Unfortunately our American partners are using these methods in order to achieve their own selfish gains and it is illegal to persecute people. I would not rule out that in regards to FIFA, the same thing could be happening, though I do not know how it will end,” he said.

“However, the fact that this is happening right on the eve of the FIFA presidential elections, gives one this exact impression.”

Putin added this is an obvious attempt to expand Washington’s jurisdiction in other countries.

“This is yet one more attempt to try and impose their law against other states. I am absolutely sure that this is an attempt to try and stop Blatter from being re-elected as FIFA president, which is a grave breach of the principles of a functioning international organization.”

He also said pressure had been applied on Blatter “to force him to take the 2018 World Cup from Russia.”

“We know his position – which has nothing to do with any kind of special relationship between Russia and FIFA – he thinks that sport and politics should be separate.”

“In terms of these arrests, it looks rather strange at the very least. These arrests took place at the request of the Americans and they were accused of corruption,” Putin told journalists, pointing out that that the accusations were being made against international officials.

“One could say that maybe someone might be guilty of something. I do not know this, but what I do know is that this has nothing to do with the USA,” he added. “They, these officials, are not citizens of the USA, and if something happened, it did not take place on the territory of the United States and the US has no business in this.”

Putin added that the “prosecutor of the United States, according to our mass media has already said that these FIFA committee members have committed a crime. This is almost as though the prosecutor doesn’t know of the rule ‘innocent until proven guilty’.”

“Whether the people are guilty or not, this should be decided in a court.”

The Russian president recalled the history surrounding the former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden, who managed to leak documents surrounding the illegal actions of the USA across the world, which included creating secret surveillance programs to listen in on the conversations of world leaders.

“No one wants to give him the right to be accepted as an asylum seeker or to guarantee his safety. No one wants to get in a quarrel with their partners, with their more senior partners.”

Putin added that Assange’s case is also relevant.

“They are after him because he leaked information, which he received from US defense, which detailed the actions of the US army in the Middle East and in particular in Iraq.”

Source: http://rt.com/news/262669-putin-interview-fifa-arrests/

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Putin Lashes U.S. on FIFA Probe as Russia Denies Wrongdoing

By Andrey BiryukovHenry MeyerIlya Arkhipov
May 27, 2015 – bloomberg.com

FIFARussian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of using a corruption probe to try to block the re-election of FIFA chief Joseph “Sepp” Blatter for resisting attempts to remove Russia’s right to host the 2018 World Cup.

“At its root this has nothing to do with Russia,” said Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-linked political analyst. “This is about Washington taking control of FIFA.”
Full Article : bloomberg.com

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Fifa crisis: Blatter denies responsibility and rebuffs Platini plea to resign
‘I can’t monitor everyone all the time,’ says president of football’s world governing body

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Australian police asked to investigate $500,000 payment to Fifa’s Jack Warner
Whistleblower asks police to investigate payment from Football Federation Australia made as part of Australia’s unsuccessful bid to host 2022 World Cup

Blatter REFUSES to step down as FIFA president
Sepp Blatter has refused Michel Platini’s request to step down as FIFA president following the £100m corruption scandal. The French chief of UEFA met Blatter one-on-one on Thursday and asked him to quit but he refused, saying it would not be possible before Friday’s presidential election. The UEFA president confirmed that all his member nations in Europe have been asked to vote for Blatter’s opponent, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, after two separate criminal probes were launched into FIFA. Platini has not ruled out the possibility of a World Cup boycott if Blatter is re-elected, saying ‘we will be open to all options.’

Senators want FIFA to move 2018 World Cup out of Russia
Thirteen U.S. Senators asked FIFA to consider taking the 2018 World Cup out of Russia because of what they call that country’s “ongoing violations of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

John McCain Wants To Move The 2018 World Cup Out Of Russia
Two weeks after pro-Russia separatists apparently shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it flew over Ukraine, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is calling on FIFA to move the 2018 World Cup out of Russia as a way to exert leverage on Vladimir Putin.

Fifa corruption inquiry: Sepp Blatter under pressure
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has chaired an emergency meeting under growing political pressure over a corruption scandal that saw arrests on Wednesday. UK Prime Minister David Cameron is calling for Mr Blatter to resign. Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed Mr Blatter for a fifth term. Mr Blatter says he has no intention of resigning, the BBC understands.

FIFA corruption scandal: What happens next?
The unprecedented twin investigations into FIFA have demonstrated that the opaque organization is subject to the law, not above it. The Swiss are looking into the controversial 2018 and 2022 World Cup soccer bids, which awarded the games to Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Fifa key sponsors Visa, adidas and Coca-Cola pile on pressure in wake of corruption scandal
Fifa’s major sponsors have put pressure on the organisation in the wake of an unfolding corruption scandal, after the launch of two criminal probes and the arrest of nine Fifa officials. Visa, one of Fifa’s biggest sponsors, has threatened to withdraw its funding altogether and described its “disappointment” with football’s under-fire governing body as “profound”.

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$2.5 million bail for former National Security Minister on corruption charge

May 27, 2015 – guardian.co.tt

Jack WarnerFomer Minister of National Security Jack Warner was granted $2.5m bail on 12 charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering.

Warner appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court on Wednesday afternoon.

He was represented by Fyard Hosein, Rishi Dass and Nyree Alfonso.

He was ordered to surrender his passport and report to the Arouca police station twice weekly. The matter was adjourned to July 9.

According to reports, Warner had earlier surrendered to officers attached to the Fraud Squad, after a provisional warrant was issued for his arrest on Wednesday.
Full Article : guardian.co.tt

19 thoughts on “Putin Lashes U.S. on FIFA Probe”

  1. Anxious time ahead for Jack
    After embattled Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner spent last night in jail after failing to secure bail, the United States Justice Department now has 60 days to produce a formal request for his extradition to the US to face racketeering and other charges on which he has been indicted there.

    Why is the U.S. bringing down the hammer on FIFA?
    FIFA has been regularly accused of bribery and kickbacks, allegations that reached a fever pitch after it awarded Russia and Qatar the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Afterward, the group carried out its own internal investigation and cleared itself. So why is the United States, a country where soccer ranks far below football and basketball in popularity, now taking top FIFA officials to court on corruption charges?

    FIFA arrests: Who are the 14 men targeted by FBI who stand accused of corruption?

    Sepp Blatter is as hard to nail as Osama Bin Laden but you can’t take FIFA’s president out with a bullet
    They are brazen, they are shameless, they are flagrant in their contempt for law. They twist the rules of the countries they visit, they manipulate, they conspire, they corrupt and diminish. Their leader is a tawdry, Machiavellian politico with the air of one who feels arrogantly insulated against society’s rules.

    What About Sepp Blatter? Questions About the FIFA Case
    The effort to round up all of the people indicted by the United States Justice Department proceeded Wednesday, a sprawling, international operation that is playing out in several soccer-mad countries. When will the accused appear in court in Brooklyn? Maybe not anytime soon.

    2010 FIFA World Cup bid under investigation
    The awarding of hosting rights for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa is being investigated by the United States Department of Justice.

  2. Fifa scandal: Why the US is policing a global game
    It is not clear what specific event – if any – prompted the US investigation. Some have pointed to the United States’ failed bid in late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes were paid to encourage votes for Qatar. “I know some people who were in the US bidding committee… They all had really strong suspicions that somebody was getting bought off,” said Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. He told the BBC that he suspected the justice department probably got involved following the failed bid.

    England should host 2018 World Cup not Russia, says Lennart Johansson
    • Former Uefa president believes Qatar 2022 award should also be reviewed
    • ‘Blatter will obviously ensure that he wins the election’

    ‘Old bastards!’ Latin America delights in Fifa arrests after years of impunity
    Legends including Diego Maradona and José Luis Chilavert applaud FBI swoop but others lament it has taken a foreign agency to tackle obvious corruption

    Australia ‘treated like a mug’ over 2022 Fifa World Cup bid, says Nick Xenophon
    Independent senator says Australia should be refunded the $40m spent on the ‘fixed’ bidding process in wake of the Fifa corruption allegations

    Fifa scandal: Visa sponsorship threat compounds calls for Blatter to quit
    English FA chairman Greg Dyke and Diego Maradona say embattled Fifa president must go, as Visa says it could reassess football sponsorship deals
    Visa – one of Fifa’s key sponsors – has threatened it could pull out of its contract with football’s world governing body as Sepp Blatter faced increasing pressure not to seek re-election as its president.

    Anti-Corruption NGO Calls For Sepp Blatter To Resign

    FIFA sponsors pile pressure on Blatter ahead of AGM vote

    John Delaney calls for Sepp Blatter resignation

  3. Why America do not go after England for the same fraud re World Cup efforts?

    1. It is interesting how many on this blog who make corruption accusations every day and who rant and rave against corruption in government are willing to tolerate Jack’s alleged FIFA theft. These hypocrites even criticize the US for its determination to clean up FIFA.

    1. Just wondering, who is “we”? and who is “allyuh”?
      Implicit in statements like these is the sense of entitlement which dominates the thinking of a certain sector of the population at the expense of others.

    2. Now, now, didn’t Desmond Cartey said “all ah we tief”. https://books.google.ca/books?id=6SUMel5m5Z4C&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=calypso+on+%27we+tief%27&source=bl&ots=6ZPlSMetK7&sig=hqfzfk4hZcLGHFMEYUuYcr44PaE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VxRoVZuQDtffsATL2YPwCQ&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=calypso%20on%20'we%20tief'&f=false
      By the way I’m no promoter of this vice and a case in point, ‘O Halloran going to church and tiefing like hell and building those Scarborough towers with money siphoned out (BP/Amoco) with the help of Ben Primus. How did he died? As an ordinary citizen at Scarborough General Hosp. with a Trinidadian nurse, nursing him to the end. How much did he carry with him? The lesson here, is, this has now become embedded as part of our culture and all races and ethnicities in T&T are involved. We do learn well from the North Americans and Europeans. I wonder if that is why they call it ‘white collar crimes’ at the same time the scoundrels are wearing wearing blue suits and dresses to boot!

  4. Having regards to Jack Warner’s funding of Kamla’s 2010 election
    to office, there is absolutely no doubt that she was well aware
    of his pending problems with FIFA, she needs to be careful and
    although “shame” is not part of her persons she needs to remember
    that Trinis are not as dumb as she thinks.

    By the way, what has become of the USA vs Trinidad & Tobago some
    years ago and the allegations that T&T lost was fixed and compensated by Donald Trump’s staging Ms.Universe pageant in T&T?
    we are really on the map at this time.

  5. Kian if you recall when the FIFA scandal first broke a couple of years ago and Warner was still on the plantation carrying out his political slave labor for the Queen, her two overseers Mamoo and TMAN were in his corner defending him. Now that he has fled the plantation, has become a runaway, obviously they are doing what overseers traditionally does, hunting him down in a manner of speaking.

    Jack perfected his corruption skills under expert tutelage. Unfortunately the protection he had in T&T when he was on the plantation did not extend beyond our shores. And so he came a crupper.

    Time soon come when the kleptocrats will caught in the net of justice, and no cyber propaganda will be able to save them. I tell ya Kian, I look at what happened in Guyana, how the thieves over there are running around like fowls after their heads have been severed, shouting “we wuz robbed, we wuz robbed”, while the international observers look at them pitifully and begin to grasp the utter caricature that was in Governance in our main land neighbor for about 20 years. Time soon, yeah, time soon come.

    1. You are absolutely correct Rodwell. It was this same TMan and this same Mamoo who defended that corrupt and no-good AG
      Anand Ramlogan, who used tax payers money to defend Jack Warner’s appointment in the Cabinet. It was also the same Keith Rowley, who the UNC is fond of saying that he shows no sign of leadership, that counseled Kamla and the UNC that this unfortunate deed was going to happen. He said then, that he had nothing personal against Jack but, to put him into the Cabinet, was not good for Trinidad and Tobago, worse to have him as acting Prime Minister was NOT a good idea. Ramlogan got the best lawyers that money can buy, such as Lionel Luckhoo, Fenton Ramsahoye, Martineau and others to affirm that this appointment was valid. As a keen politician and exceptional leader Rowley knew beforehand that it was not going to look good for Trinidad and Tobago. But Kamla, Anand, TMan and Mamoo, chastised everyone of us who saw it differently. Today, they are still trying to tell us that Kamla is a good leader and Rowley is not. The problem is that they have NO SHAME! THEY WILL TELL LIES AND FORGET THAT THEY TELL LIES, OR MAYBE THEY WILL IGNORE THE LIES THEY TELL ONLY TO TELL ANOTHER LIE. That is the kind of leadership we are seeing in Trinidad today. From 2010 to 2015, any infant just born KNOWS that Jack Warner funded and promoted Kamla and the UNC’s rise to power. Now, for the very first time that lying woman comes out and denies it all! What a liar she is and a shameless one at that! She must understand that the holes, that she is digging for others is the same ones she will have to step in. The law of nature never changes and Kamla’s demise will be the result of that law. LIARS!

      1. It’s not the heart that compels conclusions in cases, it’s the law.
        Sonia Sotomayor

      2. Have you noticed that Rowley stated that the new PNM government if elected would not attempt to investigate or pursue corruption allegedly committed by the PP.
        Rowley is fully aware that corruption allegations against individual members of government are carefully crafted rumors as part of the election strategy of the PNM.
        Whenever he is challenged to provide the evidence, he comes up empty…..well except for the famous emails!
        There is no doubt that public servants and some State Board officials have been involved in certain matters. But can the PP government be directly held accountable?

        1. It would be foolish to answer such questions because we are dealing in semantics, not substance. Any government, whether Rowley or anyone else must deal with substance when discovered.

  6. The crime involves moving money through the banking system of the USA. Those monies used to pay off official that does not go through the banking system of the USA would be exempt.

    What this highlights is that the international money transfers should not involve the banking system of the USA. Use European or Asia banks with no connections to the US banks.

    1. HSBC and Barclays banks have been identified in the UK where exchanges took place.

  7. An abuse of the words of an esteemed jurist to cover up blatant hypocrisy.

    Kian Guyana and T&T are twin repositories of people for whom mendacity is pathological. In defense of a way of life they yearn to be replicated in these parts, they will say and do anything. But time soon come my friend, time soon come. It has come for Guyana, and it will come for our dear twin island republic.

  8. The economist emphasized that as the new administration pursues good governance initiatives, special attention must be given to recovering stolen public assets “which occurred during the 23-year rule of the PPP.”

    Dr. Thomas estimated that size of the pool of potentially stolen public funds derived from independent sources is quite large. It can range from $333 billion to $340 billion thus making even a modest recovery of some of this worthwhile.

    He said that corruption in Guyana, like elsewhere, is a major driver of income, wealth, inequality and poverty. With this in mind, he said the recovery of stolen public assets is a daunting endeavor and should not be undertaken lightly. He said that it requires an enormous commitment of political will as well as industry on the part of those entrusted with this task.
    The economist said that the recovery initiative must be guided by four economic realities.

    He said that any investment that Guyana makes in such an initiative is simultaneously an investment in recovery and prevention.

    http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2015/05/30/recovering-stolen-public-assets-apnuafc-must-prevent-future-exposure-to-corruption-dr-clive-thomas/

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