Sepp Blatter resigns as Fifa president

Itv.com ^ | 6/2/15

[Dog]

ABC is reporting he is under investigation by the FBI...yep they got the goods.

[RayChuang88]

No, Blatter may have been tipped off that the not only the US Department of Justice and the IRS are going after him, but possibly tax authorities in multiple European countries--including Switzerland--may be doing the same thing. He bailed before the European Union tax authorities dropped the hammer legally on him.

[Dog]

Unless a deal was made in which he resigns for a get out of jail free card.

[kevkrom]

Yeah, the main body of FIFA is (mostly) outside US jurisdiction, unless they can be tied to specific wrongdoing in the US or using US banks. (The law is actually more permissive on the whole, but this description is close enough for jazz.) The indictments/arrests dealt mostly with CONCACAF-related issues, as CONCACAF’s HQ is in Miami (and was in New York prior).

But the Swiss authorities have been working with DoJ/FBI on this, and they DO have the jurisdiction.

[Dog]

This was to sudden...he went from an in your face presser to tucking tail and running. Someone flipped on him.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Someone flipped on him.

He probably looked at Jack Warner over the last seven days and realized that he's hosed.

And nobody has really said how much Chuck Blazer knows, either. Sepp's in way over his head.

[Dog]

They are talking about a letter from someone in South Africa to someone at FIFA discussing money... bet that something to do with it.

[DoodleDawg]

I wonder how much they paid him to make him go away.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Sounds like they are talking about Jerome Volcke and the $10,000,000 gift from South Africa to FIFA right before the awarding of the 2010 World Cup.

He’s pinned by some people as being Blatter’s bag man and there’s no way there’s that kind of disbursement without the boss knowing about it.

[TexasCruzin]

Good riddance ‘Septic Bladder’.

[RayChuang88]

I think the actions of the FBI and IRS has emboldened legal authorities in other countries, too. I think Blatter was tipped off that tax authorities in Europe, South America, the UAE (through analysis of monetary transactions of Islamic banks in Dubai), Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Japan were now on the case, and FIFA could be liable for a GIGANTIC case of international tax fraud.

[kevkrom]

I agree. The prevailing attitude has been “well, we know they’re corrupt, but what are you going to do?”

Well, now we know what you can do. And once the veneer of false inevitability is stripped away (note: Hillary Clinton should pay close attention to this), others lose their timidity and suddenly start going for the throat.

My only concern at this point is that Blatter’s resignation might take some of the pressure off, when it really needs to be stepped up now that they’re starting to crack.