FIFA to Receive $201m Compensation after Global Corruption Probe

The United States Department of Justice has announced that FIFA will receive $201m. These were the funds that were seized during the global football corruption probe. The money is in compensation for losses suffered by FIFA and CONCACAF, the body governing football in North and Central America, and COMEBOL, the body governing football in South America.

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The 2015 scandal was the biggest the sport has ever witnessed, as there was collusion between officials from the governing bodies and sports marketing executives, with fraud, bribery, racketeering, and money laundering offenses committed.

FIFA announced the news on the refund on its website on Wednesday, August 25th, 2021. The Acting US Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kaasulis for the Eastern District of New York confirmed the release of the funds.

This scam incident in 2015 saw the end of Sepp Blatter's reign as FIFA president and the election of Gianni Infantino in 2016.

Today's announcement confirms that money stolen by corrupt soccer officials and sports marketing executives through fraud and greed will be returned to where it belongs and used to benefit the sport.

From the start, this investigation and prosecution have been focused and bringing wrongdoers to justice and restoring ill-gotten gains to those who work for the benefit of the beautiful game.

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, expressed his delight that the money has been refunded. He also appreciated the Department of Justice for the efforts that were put into the situation by them.

I am delighted to see that money, which was illegally siphoned out of football, is now coming back to be used for its proper purposes. I want to sincerely thank the US Justice authorities for their efforts in this respect, for their fast and effective approach in bringing these matters to a conclusion and also for their trust in general.

With the FIFA Foundation, this money is in good hands and will serve the purpose it is intended for. On behalf of all future beneficiaries around the world, I would like to thank the US authorities for the trust placed in FIFA, and we will make sure that these funds are used properly and bring tangible benefits for people who really need it.

In May 2015, the DOJ indicted several FIFA executives following a raid at a Zurich hotel.