Father-son plead guilty in FIFA corruption scandal, $50 million to be forfeited

Two Argentine sports marketing executives, father Hugo Jinkis and son Mariano Jinkis, have pleaded guilty to bribing international soccer officials in FIFA’s much-discussed corruption scandal. They have pleaded guilty to bribing international soccer officials in exchange for lucrative broadcasting and marketing rights as part of a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors.

The Jinkis were indicted in a wide-ranging U.S. investigation that began in 2015 into FIFA and the American and North American soccer confederations. That investigation led to raids on FIFA officials in Zurich, a series of arrests, trials, and subsequent convictions and guilty pleas by several officials.

The Jinkis’ fraud charges will be dropped under a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities. In exchange, they admitted to carrying out a scheme to defraud FIFA, CONCACAF, and CONMEBOL. The father and son also agreed to forfeit $50 million.

Court documents say the Jinkis paid and agreed to pay “millions of dollars in commercial bribes” to secure the support of football officials in order to secure attractive media and marketing rights for various football tournaments.

The Jinkis were co-owners of Argentine sports marketing company Full Play. They resorted to bribery in order to obtain broadcasting rights for important matches such as World Cup qualifiers and the Copa America, according to court documents.

The long-running corruption investigation has raised various allegations, including bribery and money laundering, against several officials of FIFA and football administrations in the Americas. Now, in the continuation of that investigation, the confession of the Jinkis father and son has brought the old corruption scandal in the world of football back into the spotlight.