Qatar and Russia bribed FIFA officials to win World Cup bids, US prosecutors claim

United States Department of Justice published last night an indictment that states several committee members were offered bribes in connection with their votes for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, according to foreign media.

The US prosecutors also stated in the indictment that the former soccer official Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago received $5 million through a string of shell companies to vote for Russia. Some of the money, the indictment said, came “from companies based in the United States that performed work on behalf of the 2018 Russia World Cup bid.”

Rafael Salguero, a Guatemalan soccer official, received $1 million to give his vote to Russia. The US DOJ alleges Brazilian Ricardo Teixeira and Paraguayan Nicolas Leoz received bribes to vote for Qatar in 2022, the document said.

French squad won the 2018 World Cup Final. Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November-December.