FIFA announced Tuesday that its ethics committee had opened formal proceedings against six high-ranking German soccer officials who led their country’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.
The announcement comes less than three weeks after a team of legal advisers hired by the German soccer association, known as the D.F.B., released a report of its investigation into a suspicious payment linked to Germany’s successful bid. The report said it found no indication that votes were bought, but it did not rule out the possibility of corruption because it could not establish who ultimately received the money.