Donoghue expressed his appreciation to governments around the world, particularly the governments of Switzerland, Brazil and Paraguay for their significant assistance in this case. He also thanked the Office of International Affairs and the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division in Washington D.C., for their assistance in this prosecution.
Marin and the Corruption of the Enterprise
Evidence presented at the trial indicated that Marin and others engaged in a conspiracy to corrupt the FIFA enterprise through racketeering. Marin and his co-conspirators corrupted the FIFA enterprise by offering and receiving tens of millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks, paid by sports marketing companies to soccer officials.
FIFA and its six continental confederations, together with affiliated regional federations, national member associations and sports marketing companies, constitute an enterprise of legal entities. The purpose of the entities is to regulate and promote the sport of soccer worldwide. The FIFA enterprise often financed its efforts by selling multi-year media and marketing contracts covering multiple editions of tournaments.
