A major United States-based sportswear company used a Swiss bank account to pay $30 million to a Brazilian sports management executive – who then used a portion of it to bribe a “high-ranking FIFA official,” according to a 166-page indictment, made public on Wednesday, outlining corruption and fraud charges against FIFA and corporate executives.
The sportswear company, which was unnamed in the indictment, began sponsorship discussions with the Brazilian Football Confederation after they won the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. (At the time, Brazil’s team has an apparel partnership with Umbro.) Negotiations between the sportswear company and the team “lasted into 1996,” according to the indictment, upon which a deal was reached “to be one of [Brazilian Football Confederation’s] co-sponsors and to be [Brazilian Football Confederation’s] exclusive footwear, apparel, accessories, and equipment supplier.