Israeli Bank Fined $874m Over Links to FIFA Corruption Scandal
Israel-based Bank Hapoalim has been fined a total of $874
million by US authorities for its involvement in a money-laundering scheme
linked to international soccer body FIFA.
The bank has agreed to pay fines including $37.35 million to
the Federal Reserve Board, $220 million to New York State, and $9.3 million to
the Department of Justice (DoJ), according to press releases from the agencies.
The DoJ said Bank Hapoalim, which has operations in the US,
had admitted that it – along with a Swiss subsidiary – had “conspired to
launder over $20 million in bribes and kickbacks to soccer officials” between
December 2010 and February 2015.
The bribes and kickbacks totalled “at least” $20.7 million,
the DoJ said, in return for which officials “awarded or steered broadcasting
rights for soccer matches and tournaments” to certain sports marketing
executives and their companies.
The bank and its Swiss subsidiary also admitted to
laundering money for Luis Bedoya, the former president of Columbia’s soccer
federation and member of FIFA’s executive committee.
“This announcement illustrates another aspect in the spider
web of bribery, corruption and backroom deals going on behind the scenes as
soccer games were played on the field,” said William Sweeney, assistant
director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.
“Bank Hapoalim admits executives looked the other way, and
allowed illicit activity to continue even when employees discovered the scheme
and reported it.
“The New York FBI Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force and
our law enforcement partners have doggedly pursued every strand uncovered in
this criminal investigation, and will keep at it until they root out all of the
bad actors.”
The Federal Reserve said it had instructed Bank Hapoalim to
“address deficiencies in its oversight, management, and controls governing
compliance with US laws”, as well as “to implement controls governing the
retention and management of bank records”.
The New York Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) $220
million fine relates to the bank “having knowingly facilitiates US clients’
evasion of state and federal taxes”.
Linda Lacewell, superintendent of financial services, said:
“The vast majority of New Yorkers follow the rules and pay their taxes, thereby
contributing their fair share towards critical state and federal government
operations and public services.
“There are some, however, who went to great lengths to avoid
paying their share, and Bank Hapoalim offered a whole array of services to US
citizens, including New Yorkers, that knowingly facilitated their tax evasion.
DFS will not tolerate such behavior from banks that operate in the State of New
York.”
Bank Hapoalim had not responded to a request for comment by
the time of publication.
In February this year, Full Play Group, an Argentinean
sports media and marketing business, was charged in a New York court with
racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering
conspiracy.
US authorities have been conducting an in-depth
investigation into alleged bribery and corruption at FIFA, which is responsible
for governing professional soccer worldwide, since the FBI made a series of
arrests in 2015.
Comments
Post a Comment