FIFA腐敗醜聞進一步擴大 美國再起訴16人
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.
華盛頓——週四，美國官員公佈了一份新的起訴書，宣稱存在一個跨越多個國家的範圍廣泛的犯罪網絡，涉及到國際足球界最具影響力的一些人士，這顯示出針對足球腐敗和賄賂的調查進一步擴大。今年五月，這項調查曾劇烈震動管理數十億美元資金的體育機構——國際足球聯合會(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.
這份起訴書列出了16名新被告，其罪名包括遠程詐騙、洗錢和敲詐勒索，他們幾乎都來自中美洲和南美洲。這些被告包括一名前洪都拉斯總統，一名危地馬拉憲法法院法官，以及巴西國家足協的現任和前任主席。
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.
聯邦官員表示，一些被告參與了有關重要足球賽事轉播權的賄賂行爲。其他人則妨礙司法公正，在發現自己被調查之後，試圖掩蓋犯罪行爲。
“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.”
“這稱得上是史上最複雜的國際金融調查案件之一，”美國國稅局(Internal Revenue Service)犯罪調查部門負責人理查德·韋伯(Richard Weber)說。他還表示，這項調查至少在40個國家展開了犯罪資金追查行動。“我們已經確認了數以億計的資金，通過世界各地的銀行賬戶匯進匯出的收益。”
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.
在這份起訴書被公佈14個小時之前，瑞士當局展開了黎明前的抓捕行動，作爲美國官員主導的廣泛調查行動的一部分。這些美國官員主要來自美國紐約東區檢察官辦公室、美國聯邦調查局(FBI)紐約外勤處和美國國稅局。在這一天結束之前，一場讓FIFA天翻地覆的大案已經又擴大了近一倍的規模。
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.”
抓捕行動的地點是其他幾名FIFA官員在今年五月被逮捕的同一家豪華酒店。瑞士警方在當地時間清晨六點從一個側門進入Baur au Lac酒店。一名酒店經理告訴酒店大堂的來客，因爲有“極端情況”，他們必須離開酒店。
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爲：阿爾弗雷多·阿維特(Alfredo Hawit)、阿列爾·阿爾瓦拉多(Ariel Alvarado)、拉斐爾·卡列哈斯(Rafael Callejas)、布賴恩·希門尼斯(Brayan Jiménez)、拉斐爾·薩爾格羅(Rafael Salguero)、埃克托爾·特魯希略(Héctor Trujillo)、雷納爾多·巴斯克斯(Reynaldo Vasquez)、胡安·安赫爾·納波特(Juan 渀最攀氀 Napout)、曼努埃爾·布爾加(Manuel Burga)、卡洛斯·查維斯(Carlos Chávez)、路易斯·奇裏沃加(Luís Chiriboga)、馬爾科·波洛·德爾內羅(Marco Polo del Nero)、愛德華多·德盧卡(Eduardo Deluca)、何塞·路易斯·(José Luis Meiszner)、羅默·奧蘇納(Romer Osuna)、裏卡多·特謝拉(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總統。特魯希略是危地馬拉憲法法院法官。德爾內羅和特謝拉則分別是巴西國家足協現任和前任主席。
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.
阿維特是中北美和加勒比地區足聯(Concacaf)主席。納波特是南美足聯(Conmebol)主席。兩人都是FIFA副主席和FIFA執行委員會成員。
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.
加上去年春天公佈的起訴，美國已經對中北美和加勒比地區足聯Concacaf和Conmebol連續三屆共六名主席提起了刑事訴訟，顯示出這些覆蓋了幾十年時間的指控深入到了整個系統。這六人在不同時期也都擔任過FIFA的高層官員。
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.
在司法部宣佈卡列哈斯被起訴幾個小時前，這位洪都拉斯1990年代早期的總統、前洪都拉斯足協主席還否認自己與此事有關聯，並對阿維特被捲入這個案件表示遺憾。
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.”
當地一名記者提到，有社交媒體猜測他可能會面臨起訴，卡列哈斯表示，“怎麼會有我？我從來不曾擔任Concacaf或FIFA成員。人們有這樣的猜測，是因爲他們想亂猜。有些人思想邪惡，但沒什麼理由將我和這些事情扯上關係。在這裏，所有人都在妄自揣測着一些東西。”
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.
在週四下午舉行的一場新聞發佈會上，美國司法部長洛蕾塔·E·林奇(Loretta E. Lynch)描述了一些被聯邦官員認爲是腐敗證據的事實。“和腐敗體系代際延續的本質一致，其中涉及到爲已經進行的賽事和未來十年將進行的比賽支付的費用，”她說。
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.
週四的指控得到公佈時，FIFA的領導層正齊聚蘇黎世，這清楚地提醒着人們，儘管FIFA承諾進行改革，但足球高層官員依然處在這項由好幾個政府機構參與的調查的嚴格法律審查之下。
“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.
“犯罪分子在我們的領地上，通過我們的銀行作案，他們就要按照我們的法規受到處罰，”FBI紐約外勤處的迭戈·G·羅德里格斯(Diego G. Rodriguez)說。
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發佈了一份聲明表示，它將“在瑞士法律允許的情況下，繼續全面配合美國的調查，配合瑞士司法部長辦公室(Swiss Office of the Attorney General)的調查。
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.
瑞士當局週四晚上表示，它們已經拘捕了兩名FIFA官員阿維特和納波特，他們被指控收受與世界盃資格賽和拉丁美洲兩項足球錦標賽的市場開發權有關的數以百萬美元計的賄賂。瑞士聯邦司法辦公室(Federal Office of Justice)表示，阿維特和納波特正就自己被引渡到美國的可能提出抗辯。瑞士將要求美國提交正式的引渡請求；時間期限是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，美國官員宣佈對12個國家的18人提出指控。他們描述了長達二十多年的猖獗腐敗行爲，官員操控營銷和轉播合同，換取賄賂——通過錯綜複雜的金融交易進行支付，或將錢塞滿公文包掩人耳目。之後，足聯主席賽普·布拉特(Sepp Blatter)很快宣佈他將辭職。
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.
美國司法部週四還宣佈，有八名被告簽署了認罪協議，其中有三人是在今年五月受到公開指控。他們是前Concacaf主席傑夫·韋布(Jeffrey Webb)；南美洲的體育營銷高管亞歷杭德羅·布爾薩科(Alejandro Burzaco)和何塞·馬古利斯(José Margulies)。
United States authorities have long predicted more charges in the case, but the number of people involved was not expected.
之前美國當局一直預測，會有更多人因這起案件被起訴，但涉案人員數量還是超出了人們的預期。
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.
瑞士當局實施抓捕行動的三個小時前，FIFA執行委員正要進入爲期兩天的治理改革會議的後半段。
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.
週三晚上，約四五十名足球官員——包括FIFA執行委員成員及其配偶或伴侶，以及代理祕書長馬庫斯·拉特納(Markus Kattner)、首席律師馬爾科·維利熱(Marco Villiger)等許多FIFA高層管理人員——參加了在可以觀看城市美景的高檔餐廳Sonnenberg舉辦的一場豪華晚宴。這家餐廳的葷菜非常有名，官員們有各種各樣的選擇，之後一些官員還按照以前的習慣又去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).
這家坐落於蘇黎世湖岸的酒店，因今年五月有FIFA官員在這裏被捕而招來惡名，但它和FIFA的關係由來已久。五月的抓捕行動發生後，FIFA主動聯繫接下來幾個月會到蘇黎世出差的足球官員，提出可以在這個城市的另一家酒店給他們預定房間。（當然，前提是其價格不會比FIFA和Baur au Lac談好的打包價高太多，後者的客房對外報價最低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.
一些官員接受了這個提議，在七月和九月舉行會議期間選擇到柏悅(Park Hyatt)等其他酒店住宿。但大多數人還是遵循一貫的傳統。儘管有其過往事件，本週Baur au Lac再度住滿了足球高官。
As one official, speaking in the lobby of the hotel on Wednesday, said, “Things change slowly around here.”
就像其中一名官員週三在酒店大堂裏所說的，“在這裏，改變的速度很慢。”
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執行委員會的成員聚集在蘇黎世，是爲批准一系列改革措施。該組織的壓力不只來自調查人員，還有贊助商。包括阿迪達斯、麥當勞和可口可樂在內的五家世界盃贊助商，本週簽署了一封信函，敦促FIFA要確保對改革實行獨立監督。
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計劃在明年二月投票選舉出新任主席，以替代布拉特。自瑞士在9月底宣佈布拉特是另一項單獨的刑事調查的焦點以來，他和其他幾名高層官員一直處在停職狀態。美國在今年春天宣佈多項指控之後，包括巴西、特立尼達和多巴哥在內的其他幾個國家，已經相應展開各自的調查。
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.
五月的拘捕行動在世界各地引起讚揚，也混合着嘲諷。許多足球迷對美國執法官員將焦點對準FIFA感到激動，因爲FIFA這幾年來一直受到貪腐的指控，但沒有後續結果。不過布拉特表示，這些指控是因爲美國未能選上2022年世界盃主辦國而做出的報復。
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.
從更大層面上來看，這起事件也引發一些問題，如美國政府要如何闡釋自己起訴在海外犯罪的人們的權力。根據美國法律，若起訴海外犯罪，犯罪內容和美國必需有關。以FIFA一案來講，政府表示這起案子涉及美國銀行，在其他案子裏，這就已經能夠成爲確定審判權的根據。這種先例對起訴國際恐怖嫌疑犯時特別有用。
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.
在最新的起訴書裏，受指控的人和機構的數量至少是40個，沒受到指涉的足球官員越來越少，預計也將有更多人受到指控。
“Our work is not done,” said Robert Capers, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“我們的工作還沒結束，”紐約東區檢察官羅伯特慍帕斯(Robert Capers)說。
