Wait, they also bribe people? A New York federal jury just found a former 21st Century Fox executive guilty in an alleged scheme to bribe FIFA officials for lucrative soccer game broadcasting rights. Via Axios:
Hernan Lopez was convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud and launder money, but co-defendant Carlos Martinez was acquitted on the same charges, per a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Argentinian sports marketing company Full Play Group S.A. was also convicted in the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors said Lopez engaged in an alleged scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to South American soccer officials in order to secure broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores — the region’s most popular club tournament, among other events.
He also “relied on loyalty secured through the payment of bribes” to advance the business interests of Fox, including to obtain confidential bidding information for the rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments in the U.S., rights which Fox successfully obtained,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Huh. I wonder where those bribes showed up in Fox’s accounting. Travel expenses? Food costs? “Persuasion”?
