Two Argentine sports marketing executives admitted on Thursday that they bribed international soccer officials. This was part of a big FIFA corruption case. They reached a deal with US prosecutors to avoid going to trial.
Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis, a father and son duo, faced charges after a wide-ranging investigation that started in 2015. This probe caused a lot of trouble for FIFA and soccer bodies in South and North America.
The US investigation included raids on FIFA officials in Zurich. It led to many arrests, trials, and guilty pleas.
As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the US will drop fraud charges against the Jinkises. They admitted to creating a scheme that defrauded FIFA, CONCACAF, and CONMEBOL.
The Jinkises also agreed to give up $50 million as part of this deal.
The court documents state that the men "agreed to pay and did pay tens of millions of dollars in commercial bribes" to soccer executives. They did this in exchange for support to get media and marketing rights for different soccer tournaments.
The Jinkises are co-owners of the Argentine sports marketing company Full Play. They used bribes to secure media rights for matches, including World Cup qualifiers and the Copa America.
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