6 Men With FIFA Ties Now on Interpol's Most Wanted List

Including former VP Jack Warner
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 3, 2015 6:49 AM CDT
Updated Jun 3, 2015 7:07 AM CDT
Interpol 'Red Notice' Issued for 6 in FIFA Probe
In this June 2, 2011, file photo, suspended FIFA executive Jack Warner gestures during a news conference at the airport in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.   (Shirley Bahadur)

Interpol added six men with ties to FIFA to its most wanted list today, issuing an international alert for two former FIFA officials and four executives on charges including racketeering and corruption. Two of the men, former FIFA vice president Jack Warner of Trinidad and former executive committee member Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay, have been arrested in their home countries. Warner has since been released and Leoz is under house arrest. The Interpol "red notice" means they risk arrest anywhere they travel. Others listed were Argentines Alejandro Burzaco and Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who together are accused of paying more than $100 million in bribes for media and commercial rights to soccer tournaments; and Jose Margulies, a Brazilian broadcast executive.

Meanwhile, South Africa's sports minister today denied that a $10 million payment was a bribe to secure the 2010 World Cup. Fikile Mbalula told reporters that the government wanted to "categorically deny" that South Africa paid any bribes, characterizing the $10 million as an "above-board payment" to help soccer development in Warner's Caribbean region. The announcement from Interpol comes a day after Sepp Blatter abruptly announced he will step down as FIFA president amid the widening corruption scandal. (More FIFA stories.)

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