WASHINGTON — The investigation into corruption and bribery in soccer that in May rocked FIFA, the sport’s multibillion-dollar governing body, metastasized on Thursday when United States officials unsealed a new indictment that alleged an even more extensive network of criminal behavior across dozens of countries and that involved some of the most powerful people in international soccer.
华盛顿——周四,美国官员公布了一份新的起诉书,宣称存在一个跨越多个国家的范围广泛的犯罪网络,涉及到国际足球界最具影响力的一些人士,这显示出针对足球腐败和贿赂的调查进一步扩大。今年五月,这项调查曾剧烈震动管理数十亿美元资金的体育机构——国际足球联合会(FIFA)。
Sixteen new defendants were identified, with charges including wire fraud, money laundering and racketeering, aimed almost entirely at individuals from Central and South America. Among them were a former president of Honduras, a judge on the Constitutional Court of Guatemala and the current and former presidents of Brazil’s national soccer federation.
这份起诉书列出了16名新被告,其罪名包括远程诈骗、洗钱和敲诈勒索,他们几乎都来自中美洲和南美洲。这些被告包括一名前洪都拉斯总统,一名危地马拉宪法法院法官,以及巴西国家足协的现任和前任主席。
Some defendants, federal officials said, participated in bribes involving broadcasting rights for major soccer matches. Others had obstructed justice by trying to hide criminal actions after finding out that they were under investigation.
联邦官员表示,一些被告参与了有关重要足球赛事转播权的贿赂行为。其他人则妨碍司法公正,在发现自己被调查之后,试图掩盖犯罪行为。
“This case has been nothing short of one of the most complex, worldwide financial investigations ever conducted,” said Richard Weber, chief of the criminal investigation unit of the Internal Revenue Service, who added that the investigation had traced funds through at least 40 countries. “We have identified hundreds of millions of dollars, proceeds that went through bank accounts throughout the world.”
“这称得上是史上最复杂的国际金融调查案件之一,”美国国税局(Internal Revenue Service)犯罪调查部门负责人理查德·韦伯(Richard Weber)说。他还表示,这项调查至少在40个国家展开了犯罪资金追查行动。“我们已经确认了数以亿计的资金,通过世界各地的银行账户汇进汇出的收益。”
About 14 hours before the indictment was unsealed, Swiss authorities conducted predawn arrests in the broad investigation, led by United States officials — notably the United States attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York, the New York field office of the F.B.I. and the I.R.S. By day’s end, a huge case that has upended FIFA had nearly doubled in size.
在这份起诉书被公布14个小时之前,瑞士当局展开了黎明前的抓捕行动,作为美国官员主导的广泛调查行动的一部分。这些美国官员主要来自美国纽约东区检察官办公室、美国联邦调查局(FBI)纽约外勤处和美国国税局。在这一天结束之前,一场让FIFA天翻地覆的大案已经又扩大了近一倍的规模。
The arrests took place at the same luxury hotel where other FIFA officials were arrested in May. The Swiss police entered the hotel, the Baur au Lac, through a side door at 6 a.m. local time. A hotel manager told visitors in the lobby they had to leave the property because of “an extreme situation.”
抓捕行动的地点是其他几名FIFA官员在今年五月被逮捕的同一家豪华酒店。瑞士警方在当地时间清晨六点从一个侧门进入Baur au Lac酒店。一名酒店经理告诉酒店大堂的来客,因为有“极端情况”,他们必须离开酒店。
The 16 new defendants charged were: Alfredo Hawit; Ariel Alvarado; Rafael Callejas; Brayan Jiménez; Rafael Salguero; Héctor Trujillo; Reynaldo Vasquez; Juan 渀最攀氀 Napout; Manuel Burga; Carlos Chávez; Luís Chiriboga; Marco Polo del Nero; Eduardo Deluca; José Luis Meiszner; Romer Osuna; Ricardo Teixeira.
16名最新被指控的被告为:阿尔弗雷多·阿维特(Alfredo Hawit)、阿列尔·阿尔瓦拉多(Ariel Alvarado)、拉斐尔·卡列哈斯(Rafael Callejas)、布赖恩·希门尼斯(Brayan Jiménez)、拉斐尔·萨尔格罗(Rafael Salguero)、埃克托尔·特鲁希略(Héctor Trujillo)、雷纳尔多·巴斯克斯(Reynaldo Vasquez)、胡安·安赫尔·纳波特(Juan 渀最攀氀 Napout)、曼努埃尔·布尔加(Manuel Burga)、卡洛斯·查维斯(Carlos Chávez)、路易斯·奇里沃加(Luís Chiriboga)、马尔科·波洛·德尔内罗(Marco Polo del Nero)、爱德华多·德卢卡(Eduardo Deluca)、何塞·路易斯·(José Luis Meiszner)、罗默·奥苏纳(Romer Osuna)、里卡多·特谢拉(Ricardo Teixeira)。
Mr. Callejas is the former president of Honduras. Mr. Trujillo is the judge. Mr. del Nero and Mr. Teixeira are the current and former presidents of Brazil’s federation.
卡列哈斯是洪都拉斯前总统。特鲁希略是危地马拉宪法法院法官。德尔内罗和特谢拉则分别是巴西国家足协现任和前任主席。
Mr. Hawit is the president of Concacaf, the regional confederation that includes North and Central America and the Caribbean. Mr. Napout is the president of Conmebol, the South American confederation. Both are FIFA vice presidents and members of the organization’s governing executive committee.
阿维特是中北美和加勒比地区足联(Concacaf)主席。纳波特是南美足联(Conmebol)主席。两人都是FIFA副主席和FIFA执行委员会成员。
Taken together with the charges unsealed last spring, the United States has now taken criminal action against the three successive presidents of both Concacaf and Conmebol, a signal of the systemic nature of the allegations that span decades. All six of those men were at various times also among FIFA’s top leadership.
加上去年春天公布的起诉,美国已经对中北美和加勒比地区足联Concacaf和Conmebol连续三届共六名主席提起了刑事诉讼,显示出这些覆盖了几十年时间的指控深入到了整个系统。这六人在不同时期也都担任过FIFA的高层官员。
Hours before the Justice Department disclosed that he too was indicted, Mr. Callejas, the president of Honduras in the early 1990s and former general secretary of the nation’s soccer federation, denied he was implicated and voiced regret that Mr. Hawit was implicated in the case.
在司法部宣布卡列哈斯被起诉几个小时前,这位洪都拉斯1990年代早期的总统、前洪都拉斯足协主席还否认自己与此事有关联,并对阿维特被卷入这个案件表示遗憾。
When a local news reporter asked about social media speculation that he could face charges, Mr. Callejas said; “Why me? I was never a member of Concacaf or FIFA. People are wondering because they want to wonder. There are some who have evil in their soul but there is no reason to be associated with these issues. Here everyone presumes something.”
当地一名记者提到,有社交媒体猜测他可能会面临起诉,卡列哈斯表示,“怎么会有我?我从来不曾担任Concacaf或FIFA成员。人们有这样的猜测,是因为他们想乱猜。有些人思想邪恶,但没什么理由将我和这些事情扯上关系。在这里,所有人都在妄自揣测着一些东西。”
In a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch described what federal officials believe is evidence of corruption. “Consistent with the intergenerational nature of the corruption schemes, they involve payments relating to tournaments that have already been played, as well as matches scheduled into the next decade,” she said.
在周四下午举行的一场新闻发布会上,美国司法部长洛蕾塔·E·林奇(Loretta E. Lynch)描述了一些被联邦官员认为是腐败证据的事实。“和腐败体系代际延续的本质一致,其中涉及到为已经进行的赛事和未来十年将进行的比赛支付的费用,”她说。
Thursday’s charges, coming as FIFA’s leaders gathered in Zurich, served as a high-profile reminder that despite the organization’s promises of reform, soccer’s top officials remain under intense legal scrutiny by the investigation, which involves several government agencies.
周四的指控得到公布时,FIFA的领导层正齐聚苏黎世,这清楚地提醒着人们,尽管FIFA承诺进行改革,但足球高层官员依然处在这项由好几个政府机构参与的调查的严格法律审查之下。
“When criminals bring their corrupt activity to our shores and our banks, they will play by our rules,” said Diego G. Rodriguez of the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ New York field office.
“犯罪分子在我们的领地上,通过我们的银行作案,他们就要按照我们的法规受到处罚,”FBI纽约外勤处的迭戈·G·罗德里格斯(Diego G. Rodriguez)说。
FIFA released a statement that said it would “continue to cooperate fully with the U.S. investigation as permitted by Swiss law, as well as with the investigation being led by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General.”
FIFA发布了一份声明表示,它将“在瑞士法律允许的情况下,继续全面配合美国的调查,配合瑞士司法部长办公室(Swiss Office of the Attorney General)的调查。
Swiss authorities said on Thursday morning that they had taken two FIFA officials, Mr. Hawit and Mr. Napout, into custody and that they were accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes related to the sale of marketing rights for World Cup qualifying matches and soccer tournaments in Latin America. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice said Mr. Hawit and Mr. Napout were contesting their possible extradition to the United States. Switzerland will ask the United States to submit formal extradition requests; the Americans have 40 days to complete those requests.
瑞士当局周四晚上表示,它们已经拘捕了两名FIFA官员阿维特和纳波特,他们被指控收受与世界杯资格赛和拉丁美洲两项足球锦标赛的市场开发权有关的数以百万美元计的贿赂。瑞士联邦司法办公室(Federal Office of Justice)表示,阿维特和纳波特正就自己被引渡到美国的可能提出抗辩。瑞士将要求美国提交正式的引渡请求;时间期限是40天。
In May, United States officials announced charges against 18 people of 12 nationalities. They described two decades of rampant corruption in which officials steered marketing and broadcast contracts in exchange for bribes — paid out through convoluted financial deals and briefcases full of cash. Mr. Blatter quickly announced plans to resign.
今年五月,美国官员宣布对12个国家的18人提出指控。他们描述了长达二十多年的猖獗腐败行为,官员操控营销和转播合同,换取贿赂——通过错综复杂的金融交易进行支付,或将钱塞满公文包掩人耳目。之后,足联主席赛普·布拉特(Sepp Blatter)很快宣布他将辞职。
The Justice Department also announced on Thursday the guilty pleas of eight defendants, three of whom had been publicly charged in May: Jeffrey Webb, former president of Concacaf; and Alejandro Burzaco and José Margulies, sports marketing executives from South America.
美国司法部周四还宣布,有八名被告签署了认罪协议,其中有三人是在今年五月受到公开指控。他们是前Concacaf主席杰夫·韦布(Jeffrey Webb);南美洲的体育营销高管亚历杭德罗·布尔萨科(Alejandro Burzaco)和何塞·马古利斯(José Margulies)。
United States authorities have long predicted more charges in the case, but the number of people involved was not expected.
之前美国当局一直预测,会有更多人因这起案件被起诉,但涉案人员数量还是超出了人们的预期。
The arrests came about three hours before members of FIFA’s executive committee were to begin the second part of their two-day meeting to discuss governance reforms.
瑞士当局实施抓捕行动的三个小时前,FIFA执行委员正要进入为期两天的治理改革会议的后半段。
On Wednesday night, a group of about 40 to 50 soccer officials — including the executive committee members and their spouses or companions, as well as many top FIFA administrators such as Markus Kattner, the acting secretary general, and Marco Villiger, the organization’s chief lawyer — attended a lavish dinner at Sonnenberg, an upscale restaurant known for its view of the city. A wide array of choices were available — the restaurant is known for its meat dishes — and afterward a number of officials went to the bar at the Baur au Lac for the customary nightcap.
周三晚上,约四五十名足球官员——包括FIFA执行委员成员及其配偶或伴侣,以及代理秘书长马库斯·拉特纳(Markus Kattner)、首席律师马尔科·维利热(Marco Villiger)等许多FIFA高层管理人员——参加了在可以观看城市美景的高档餐厅Sonnenberg举办的一场豪华晚宴。这家餐厅的荤菜非常有名,官员们有各种各样的选择,之后一些官员还按照以前的习惯又去Baur au Lac的酒吧小酌。
The hotel, which sits along the banks of Lake Zurich, gained notoriety after it was the site of the arrests in May but has had a long relationship with FIFA. In the aftermath of the May arrests, FIFA approached soccer officials who were coming to Zurich for business trips in subsequent months and offered the choice of booking accommodation at another hotel in the city (provided, of course, the rates were not substantially higher than the negotiated package rates FIFA receives at the Baur au Lac, where rooms for the public start at $650).
这家坐落于苏黎世湖岸的酒店,因今年五月有FIFA官员在这里被捕而招来恶名,但它和FIFA的关系由来已久。五月的抓捕行动发生后,FIFA主动联系接下来几个月会到苏黎世出差的足球官员,提出可以在这个城市的另一家酒店给他们预定房间。(当然,前提是其价格不会比FIFA和Baur au Lac谈好的打包价高太多,后者的客房对外报价最低650美元)。
A few officials accepted the offer, choosing to stay at other hotels, such as the Park Hyatt, during meetings in July and September. For the most part, however, tradition ruled and, despite its history, the Baur au Lac was full with soccer leaders yet again this week.
一些官员接受了这个提议,在七月和九月举行会议期间选择到柏悦(Park Hyatt)等其他酒店住宿。但大多数人还是遵循一贯的传统。尽管有其过往事件,本周Baur au Lac再度住满了足球高官。
As one official, speaking in the lobby of the hotel on Wednesday, said, “Things change slowly around here.”
就像其中一名官员周三在酒店大堂里所说的,“在这里,改变的速度很慢。”
Members of FIFA’s executive committee were meeting in Zurich to approve a set of reform measures. The group is under pressure not just from investigators but also from sponsors. Five World Cup sponsors, including Adidas, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, signed a letter this week urging FIFA to ensure independent oversight of the reforms.
FIFA执行委员会的成员聚集在苏黎世,是为批准一系列改革措施。该组织的压力不只来自调查人员,还有赞助商。包括阿迪达斯、麦当劳和可口可乐在内的五家世界杯赞助商,本周签署了一封信函,敦促FIFA要确保对改革实行独立监督。
A new election to select a replacement for Mr. Blatter is set for February. He has been under suspension, along with several other top officials, since Switzerland announced in late September that he was the focus of a separate criminal inquiry. Several other countries, including Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago, have opened investigations of their own in response to the United States allegations revealed last spring.
FIFA计划在明年二月投票选举出新任主席,以替代布拉特。自瑞士在9月底宣布布拉特是另一项单独的刑事调查的焦点以来,他和其他几名高层官员一直处在停职状态。美国在今年春天宣布多项指控之后,包括巴西、特立尼达和多巴哥在内的其他几个国家,已经相应展开各自的调查。
The arrests in May were met around the world with a mixture of praise and derision. Many soccer fans were thrilled that American law enforcement officials had set their sights on FIFA, which had been dogged by corruption allegations for years but faced few consequences. Mr. Blatter, however, said the charges were retribution for the United States’ not being chosen to host the 2022 World Cup.
五月的拘捕行动在世界各地引起赞扬,也混合着嘲讽。许多足球迷对美国执法官员将焦点对准FIFA感到激动,因为FIFA这几年来一直受到贪腐的指控,但没有后续结果。不过布拉特表示,这些指控是因为美国未能选上2022年世界杯主办国而做出的报复。
More broadly, the case has raised questions about how the American government interprets its own authority to prosecute people for crimes committed overseas. To do so, the law requires some link between the crime and the United States. In the FIFA case, the government has said American banks were used in the scheme. That has been enough to establish jurisdiction in other cases, a precedent that has been particularly useful in prosecuting international terrorism suspects.
从更大层面上来看,这起事件也引发一些问题,如美国政府要如何阐释自己起诉在海外犯罪的人们的权力。根据美国法律,若起诉海外犯罪,犯罪内容和美国必需有关。以FIFA一案来讲,政府表示这起案子涉及美国银行,在其他案子里,这就已经能够成为确定审判权的根据。这种先例对起诉国际恐怖嫌疑犯时特别有用。
The latest indictment brings the number of people and entities that have been charged to at least 40. The ranks of soccer officials who have not been implicated are thinning, though still more charges are expected.
在最新的起诉书里,受指控的人和机构的数量至少是40个,没受到指涉的足球官员越来越少,预计也将有更多人受到指控。
“Our work is not done,” said Robert Capers, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“我们的工作还没结束,”纽约东区检察官罗伯特愠帕斯(Robert Capers)说。