Bribery inquiry draws near to FIFA President Sepp Blatter
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Bribery inquiry draws near to FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Bribery inquiry draws near to FIFA President Sepp Blatter

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(AGI) New York, June 2 - The FIFA corruption scandal is movingcloser to newly re-elected president, Sepp Blatter. His numbertwo, Secretary General Jerome Valcke, was believed to havetransferred 10 million dollars in 2008 to former vice presidentJack Warner, said U.S. federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. Thiswas the amount South Africa admitted it "spent" as acontribution, and not a bribe, to secure the 2010 World Cup. MrValcke said in an email that he had not authorised the paymentand did not have the power to do so, reported the New YorkTimes. FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer, explained that it wasthe former head of the Finance Committee, Julio Grondona, whodied last year, who authorised the payment which was "executedin accordance with the organisation regulations". Theregulations state, "the secretary general is responsible formaintaining the organisation's accounts and has the authorityto make transactions", the New York Times reported. FIFAannounced that Mr Valcke, who is not under investigation, willnot attend the Women's World Cup in Canada on Saturday, June 6,as planned. It stated: "It is important that he attends tomatters at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich." Former vicepresident Mr Warner, who was arrested in Trinidad and Tobagobut freed on bail, is one of 14 FIFA executives accused by theU.S. Justice Department of handling more than 150 milliondollars in bribes. (AGI). .
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