Chuck Blazer agreed to go “undercover” for the FBI in order to help their investigation into alleged widespread corruption at Fifa and avoid a 75-year jail sentence, it has been revealed in his plea agreement.
Details of the agreement reached between the former Fifa executive member Blazer and and US Government were unsealed on Monday after a US judge ordered the plea bargain to be made public.
70-year-old Blazer pleaded guilty to 10 charges in 2013, which included bribery, money laundering and tax evasion, and they carried a maximum concurrent prison term of 75 years. Blazer made an agreement with US officials to become an informant for the FBI and to collect any evidence that might implicate other Fifa officials, both current and former, in return for immunity from prosecution.
In order to avoid serving a jail sentence, Blazer agreed to “provide truthful, complete and accurate information” to US prosecutors and “participate in undercover activities pursuant to the specific instructions of law enforcement agents”.
Last month, seven Fifa members were arrested two days before the Fifa Congress Meeting in Zurich on corruption charges filed by the FBI.
Former North and Central American Concacaf general secretary Blazer first began to give information to the US justice department in December 2011, and pleaded guilty in a secret hearing in Brooklyn in November 2013.
Blazer’s plea agreement included parts of the information that he gave to US officials, which included accepting bribes in return for giving votes to South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup and bribes relating to the 1998 World Cup, which was held in France.
“I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup,” Blazer told the judge in November 2013 when he pleaded guilty to the 10 charges.
Blazer added in the 2013 hearing: “My actions described above had common participants and results.”
Blazer also admitted to accepting bribes over the five Concacaf Gold Cups – the equivalent of Uefa’s European Championship – between 1996 and 2003, which were held in the United States on four occasions and shared between the US and Mexico in 2003.
Blazer has also agreed to testify against his former Fifa cohorts at future trials and will pay back more than $11m in tax that he evaded.
Blatter pats Blazer on on the back at the 2011 Fifa Congress The duel investigation led by the FBI and Swiss Authorities has led to the indictment of 18 current and former Fifa members.
Four days after winning a fifth term as Fifa president, Sepp Blatter announced his resignation as leader of football’s world governing body, although reports in Switzerland last week suggested that the 79-year-old could perform an incredible U-turn and stand for re-election following support from Asia and Africa.