Скачать или смотреть Star witness testifies in FIFA bribery scandal

(18 Jan 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
ASSOCAITED PRESS - MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
New York - 18 January 2023
1. STILL wide courtroom sketch of Alejandro Burzaco testifying in federal court
2. STILL tight courtroom sketch of Burzaco testifying
STORYLINE:
The U.S. government's star witness in a big-money bribery case engulfing the world of soccer began testifying Wednesday at the trial of two former Fox executives and a marketing company accused of paying millions of dollars to rig the bidding process for broadcasting rights to two of the sport's biggest competitions.
The trial  in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn is the latest development in a tangled corruption scandal that dates back nearly a decade and has ensnared more than three dozen executives and associates in the world's most popular sport.
The witness, Alejandro Burzaco, alleges that he and former Fox executives Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez conspired to bribe South American soccer officials for the TV rights to the Southern Hemisphere's biggest annual tournament and help land broadcasting rights to the sport's most lucrative competition, the World Cup.
"The bribes fulfilled that purpose extremely well," said Burzaco, who has acknowledged his role in the scheme.
The bribes, Burzaco said in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, helped Fox squeeze out competitors and secured the rights to tournaments for below-market costs.
The former Fox executives, Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez, are charged with paying bribes and kickbacks to South American Football Confederation officials to broadcast a major regional tournament, the Copa Libertadores.
Lopez, a native of Argentina, is the former chief executive of Fox International Channels and later operated a podcasting venture. Martinez, a native of Mexico, headed the broadcaster's Latin America affiliate.
Together, the former business partners funneled millions of dollars to soccer officials in exchange for favorable terms on broadcasting rights, Burzaco testified.
Another sports media and marketing company, Full Play Group SA, is on trial with Lopez and Martinez, but the bribery allegations against that company involve different TV rights. Full Play, incorporated in Uruguay, is accused of paying bribes for the rights to the Copa America, a quadrennial national team competition, as well as to World Cup qualifying matches.
The New York-based Fox Corporation, which sold its international channels during a restructuring in 2019, has denied any involvement in the bribery scandal and is not a defendant in the case.
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