Convictions in FIFA corruption case reinstated: court

Hernan Lopez, second from right, a former Fox executive, leaves federal court after his conviction for paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to nab broadcasting rights to the World Cup and other top soccer matches, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

A United States appeals court on Wednesday reinstated the convictions of a former Fox broadcasting executive and an Argentine sports-marketing firm involved in the FIFA corruption scandal.

Hernan Lopez, a former executive with 21st Century Fox, and marketing firm Full Play, had been acquitted on appeal following their conviction in 2023 after a judge cited precedent from a US Supreme Court ruling.

However an appeals court in New York on Wednesday found that the decision to acquit on appeal had been erroneous, citing a misreading of the law surrounding federal wire fraud.

“We hold that the district court erred in concluding that defendants’ conduct did not fall within the scope of Statute 1346,” a ruling said.

“Therefore, we vacate the district court’s judgments,” the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, remanding the case for “further proceedings pursuant to this opinion”.

Lopez and Full Play’s case was was one of several to emerge from the 2015 probe from the US Justice Department which rocked world soccer’s governing body FIFA and continental confederations for South and North America.

The US investigation, which included raids on FIFA officials in Zurich, led to a series of arrests and trails and subsequent charges, convictions and guilty pleas.

Lopez and Full Play were found guilty on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in March 2023.

Lopez faced up to 40 years in prison and millions of dollars in penalties. Full Play was expected to face millions of dollars in fines.

Before the convictions of Lopez and Full Play, the court had heard that the main beneficiaries of the kickback scheme were six of the most powerful men in South American football.

They included former CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz, who died in 2019, former Argentine football executive Julio Grondona, who died in 2014, and former Brazilian football chief Ricardo Teixeira.