Zurich (AFP) - Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and two of his deputies awarded themselves more than $80 million in often suspicious payments over the past five years, FIFA said Friday, after Swiss investigators raided the headquarters of football's governing body.
On a day that FIFA also had to deny media reports that new president Gianni Infantino was under investigation, it said Blatter, former secretary general Jerome Valcke and finance director Markus Kattner made a coordinated effort to "enrich themselves" and that Swiss and US authorities were being informed.
The latest damaging revelations, which suggest the trio wanted to ensure a comfortable future in the event of them losing their jobs, raise new questions about the scope of corruption at FIFA and in world football.
Blatter, whose lawyer said the payments were "proper and fair", is serving a six-year suspension from football over a two million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment to former FIFA vice president Michel Platini. Valcke and Kattner have both been fired in recent months over World Cup ticket scandals and payments they received, part of a simmering graft crisis at FIFA.
Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said its investigators searched FIFA's headquarters on Thursday as part of its inquiry into FIFA's mismanagement and the awarding of World Cup tournaments. FIFA said the search concentrated on Kattner's office.
