When it is additionally mentioned that the commission payments did not have any influence on the license fees that were negotiated between FIFA and the ISMM/ISL Group (D 2/1/83 et seq.), then it is thereby disregarded that this was not just a question of the amount of the remuneration but more particularly of the conclusion of contracts with the ISMM/ISL Group, in general, because there were potential competitors on the market (D 21). In circumstances such as those in the present case, this form of “feeding” is virtually a tradition.

The payments were not made not just prior to the conclusion of the contract, in order to place the recipient under an obligation – albeit an unenforceable one – but rather also subsequently, in order to work towards further contracts. These findings can, without further ado, be included in the specific facts of the case, whereby the contracts concerned recurring events (Football World Cup) within specific time periods; thus, new contracts had to be negotiated again and
again. Therefore – taking account of the logic of such payments – the payments were made before and afterwards and over a long period of time (1993 to 2000).

The finding that FIFA had knowledge of the bribery payments to persons within its organs is not questioned. This is firstly because various members of the executive committee had received money, and furthermore, among other things, it was confirmed by the former chief financial officer of FIFA.

FIFA wrote a press release today criticizing newspapers for being unsatisfied with the actions of Sepp Blatter/FIFA during the time period of the ISL case. I have no problems with the way Sepp handled the ISL case because it was an attempt by the leaders of FIFA to address bribery inside FIFA. It was an action taken.

Here is the bottom line as far as how that case effected the business conducted after that awareness: The handling of an internal issue is one thing, conducting an international bid with expectations of fair competition without excluding Ex Comm members known to have taken brides in the awarding of event contracts is another thing altogether.

When you have an international organization that is selling events to its members in the form of a "bid" to be held in a country other than Switzerland then that organization is conducting international business transaction and that international business is conducted based on a trust in that the process. It is the whole reason for a non profit organization that overlooks the 200+ members!

The whole purpose of the organization is to run as a fair distribution of those events in which they invite all its members to participate in the bidding for those events. One where all involved are treated the same and have the same rights and protections from corruption from the operators of that bid.

The very fact that so many in the FIFA Ex committee have stated after the 2018 and 2022 event that they wanted to see the events go to new countries shows that they saw no reason why their agenda was more important than running a fair and unbiased bid process. The people who propose a bid process have responsibilities to run the process in a manner that is consistent with the naming of that event. It was a bid, not a time to propose and impalement there unspoken internal agenda.

"If we are to judge past events however, we cannot and should not overlook the context."
http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/administration/news/newsid=1664009/

My point exactly, in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process!

FIFA and its leader had a responsibility to its members to address factors that impeded its ability to run a fair international bid process. They did not address their known problems at the point of starting a open bid process. They did not make their internal problems know to the outside world, they did not publicly acknowledge they own internal problems and that means they knowing ran a bid process that they knew had a very high chance of being corrupted. The bid process was not a fair process. They failed in their main goal of running a "bid".

It should not matter what laws were or were not in effect, using common sense is implied in the operation of an international organization who has the sole purpose of serving its member in operating their organizations event distribution.

Switzerland can't say common sense was not spelled out in legal terms with in their country, and therefore they had no responsibilities in this event.

These are smart well educated people in-trusted to run a quality bid event, they failed at performing their role, and they failed on a very large scale. They did not address known problems and continued on as if there were no problems. It was, in fact operated as a cover up. The Ex Comm members attempted to hide the truth.

FIFA failed in its main role. Its member should be mad. Trust is not something given lightly and now the question is: Do the Swiss deserve our trust?

The Swiss/FIFA have not proven to understand what the difference is between right and wrong and they continue to fight against accepting the responsibility for the basic causes of their past mistakes and maybe the answer to that question is simply: No!

Let's face it a country built on "private banking" is maybe not the best place for conducting ethical international business. Loose customs controls of items entering the country, refusal to cooperate with governments investigating tax fraud, and vague laws about taking a bribes are all part of the culture of Switzerland's past.

FIFA works for the benefit of all its members only and this is maybe not the best place to have your sport headquarters with all the problems involved with this countries inability to demonstrate common sense in conducting large business transactions.

When history goes wrong, it should not be repeated. If it does repeat itself, then we are all to blame.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/soccer/07/16/fifa-corruption.ap/index.html

ZURICH (AP) -- FIFA is set to meet Tuesday to appoint a prosecutor who will be urged to investigate possible corruption in the votes to decide the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

http://www.supersport.com/football/fifa-internationals/news/120716/AFC_suspends_Bin_Hammam

The Asian Football Confederation accused its disgraced president Mohammed bin Hammam of bribery after an internal audit revealed fresh allegations of financial wrongdoings by the Qatari football official.

...a yearlong audit that has revealed "infringements" regarding the "execution of certain contracts" and tampering with AFC bank accounts, the Malaysia-based Asian football body said in a statement Monday.

...the case has been referred to the AFC's disciplinary committee.

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/bodies/news/newsid=1664989/?intcmp=fifacom_hp_module_news

The FIFA Executive Committee, chaired by President Joseph S. Blatter, took another major step in its good governance process today by unanimously appointing Michael J Garcia (USA) and Hans-Joachim Eckert (Germany) as the chairmen of the Ethics Committee during its extraordinary meeting held in Zurich.



Mr Michael J Garcia
(USA)
Candidate to be appointed as chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee until the 63rd FIFA Congress 2013

CURRICULUM VITAE
• Partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• Formerly serving as the Senate-confirmed United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, leading more than 250 lawyers in what is widely regarded as the premier U.S. Attorney’s office in the country. Direction of a broad range of prosecutions, including investigations into white collar fraud, international terrorism and national security matters
• Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Department of Homeland Security. As head of ICE, he oversaw an agency of 20,000 employees responsible for enforcing a broad range of criminal laws, including the Arms Export Control Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and various money laundering statutes
• Former Vice President of the Americas for Interpol, the international police organization. While Vice President, he served on Interpol’s Executive Committee, the body charged with overseeing the budget and strategic direction of the organization




Mr Hans-Joachim Eckert
(Germany)
Candidate to be appointed as chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee until the 63rd FIFA Congress 2013

CURRICULUM VITAE
• 30 years in justice • 2003-present: Presiding Judge of the Penal Court Munich I, Germany (corruption, tax fraud,
economic crime)
• 1999-2003: Senior Prosecutor, Prosecution Office Munich I, Germany, leader of a department of general crime and of economic crime, responsible for data protection and World War II crime, economic crime and organised crime
• 1998-1999: Senior Prosecutor, General Prosecutor’s Office Munich, Germany, responsible for supervision in different prosecution offices, money laundering, organised crime and international relationships
• 1991-1998: Prosecutor, Prosecution Office Munich II, Germany, leader of a group, responsible for tax crime, economic crime and organised crime
• 1985-1991: Judge, LG Munich I, Civil Court
• 1978-1985: first Judge at the LG Munich I Penal Court and subsequently Prosecutor at the Prosecution Office Munich II



Appointment of the following persons as members of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee until the 63rd FIFA Congress 2013:
Chairman: Michael J Garcia
Mr Robert Torres (Guam)
Mr Les Murray (Australia)
Mr Ronald Jones (Barbados)
Mr Jorge Iván Palacio (Colombia)
Mr Noël Le Graët (France)
Mr Ahmed Ould Abderrahmane (Mauritania)

Appointment of the following persons as members of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee until the 63rd FIFA Congress 2013:
Chairman: Hans-Joachim Eckert
Mr Petrus Damaseb (Namibia)
Mr Juan Pedro Damiani (Uruguay)
Mr Burton K. Haimes (USA)
Mr Abdoulaye Mokhtar Diop (Senegal)
Mr Jack Kariko (Papua New Guinea)
Mr Yngve Hallén (Norway)
Mrs Thi My Dung Nguyen (Vietnam)



The Executive Committee also unanimously adopted the new Code of Ethics, which will come into force on 25 July 2012. The new code, which will be available to access on FIFA.com from that date, follows the proposals made by the Task Force Ethics Committee and has notably been adapted to allow the separation of the Ethics Committee into two chambers with investigatory and judicial powers, as approved by the Congress in Budapest.

The Executive Committee decided that there will be no time limitation for the prosecution of bribery and corruption matters.

July 2012, Sepp Blatter has kept his word. The proper changes have taken place inside FIFA to ensure a fair investigation of past allegations.

"WE must go step by step"... -Sepp Blatter
May 2011

It is now time for the country of Switzerland to also join the current world and encourage the use of ethical methods in all areas of business, including banking. If being corrupt was not an easy thing to accomplish, then maybe less people all around the world would attempt it.




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http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Sceptics_doubt_Fifa_clean-up_probe.html?cid=33127090

Swiss parliamentarian Roland Büchel, of the People’s Party and a long-standing critic of Fifa, told swissinfo.ch that the sporting body is in the last chance saloon.

“Fifa must clean up its act by the end of this year or we will be forced to ask whether such a multi-billion dollar industry should still have sporting association status or receive tax privileges,” he said.

The scandals also scarred Switzerland’s reputation as the host country to the Zurich-based Fifa. The federal sports ministry will release a report into the role of sporting associations based in Switzerland later this year.

Switzerland has bent over backwards to attract such prestigious international bodies, granting tax breaks and exempting them from legislation governing corporate corruption.


But Swiss politicians have questioned Switzerland’s soft touch towards sporting bodies, with parliament due to debate whether they should continue to be exempt from corporate corruption laws.

Pieth, who produced a report into Fifa's governance last year, has long challenged Switzerland’s policies towards international organisations.

“Switzerland is a chronic harbour for pirates,” he told Sunday’s SonntagsZeitung newspaper. “Whether it be tax evaders, commodities traders or unregulated sports associations. All of this badly damages Switzerland’s reputation.”