Swiss authorities began a new series of predawn arrests Thursday in the broad investigation, led by United States officials, into corruption in international soccer. Sixteen people were charged by day’s end, law enforcement officials said, nearly doubling the size of a huge case that has upended FIFA, soccer’s multibillion-dollar governing body.
Some of the arrests took place at the same luxury hotel where other FIFA officials were arrested in May. The Swiss police entered the hotel, the Baur au Lac, through a side door at 6 a.m. local time. A hotel manager told visitors in the lobby they had to leave the property because of “an extreme situation.