Two Argentine sports marketing executives implicated in the sprawling FIFA corruption scandal known as "Fifagate" have admitted in a US court that they bribed senior international football officials to secure valuable broadcasting rights.
Hugo Jinkis and his son, Mariano Jinkis, entered the admissions during a hearing before a federal court in New York as part of an agreement with US prosecutors aimed at avoiding a trial.
The two men were charged following a sweeping investigation launched in 2015 that rocked FIFA and football's governing bodies in North and South America. The scandal, widely known as "Fifagate", ultimately led to the downfall of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
The US investigation, which included high-profile raids targeting FIFA officials in Zurich, resulted in a series of arrests, trials, convictions and guilty pleas.
Under a deferred prosecution agreement, US authorities will withdraw fraud charges against the Jinkises, who admitted participating in a bribery scheme. Authorities will also confiscate $50 million from the pair.
According to court documents, the two men "paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes" to football officials in exchange for support "in their efforts to obtain lucrative media and advertising rights for various football tournaments".
The Jinkises, co-owners of Argentine sports marketing company Full Play, used the bribes to secure rights to matches including FIFA World Cup qualifiers and Copa America tournaments, according to the court filing.
Source: AMNA
