The Justice Department Just Launched an Offensive Against FIFA

Loretta Lynch's Justice Department unsealed a 47-count indictment Wednesday morning laden with racketeering, corruption and conspiracy charges against 14 people associated with FIFA, the world soccer association, and international soccer organizations.

It's the latest in a series of high-profile moves from the Justice Department since Lynch became attorney general last month, including its investigations into police misconduct in Baltimore. The indictment was born out of the Eastern District of New York, where Lynch served as U.S. attorney until her confirmation.

According to a Justice Department release, the defendants include high-ranking FIFA officials—including two of the organization's vice presidents—officials from soccer associations "that operate under the FIFA umbrella," and South American and U.S. marketing executives. The indictment comes as FIFA is slated to hold an election Friday for president; it had been expected that the current leader, Sepp Blatter, will get a fifth term in office.

In a statement, Lynch said the Justice Department plans to work with other nations to "end corrupt practices" within FIFA and "root out misconduct."

"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States," Lynch said in a statement. "It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable."

The Justice Department's actions against FIFA officials and associates have spanned continents in just the last few hours. In the early morning in Zurich, Swiss law enforcement arrested seven of the defendants "at the request of the United States." And department officials reported that the Miami headquarters of CONCACAF, the organization governing soccer in the Americas, was served with a search warrant Wednesday morning. The president of CONCACAF, Jeffrey Webb, was one of the defendants named in the indictment who was arrested in Zurich Wednesday. His predecessor, Jack Warner, was also named in the indictment.

Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General also announced a criminal investigation into "suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 Football World Cups." Though the probe is separate from the U.S. Justice Department's, the two countries are "coordinating their respective criminal proceedings," according to a Swiss government release.

Until Wednesday's events, the controversy surrounding FIFA ahead of Friday's election has largely centered on those two upcoming World Cups, for which Russia and Qatar, respectively, won bids. On Tuesday, U.S. Sens. John McCain and Robert Menendez sent a letter to FIFA calling on the organization to elect someone other than Blatter as president. The two want a new leader who will yank the cup from Vladimir Putin's Russia because of its military conduct in Ukraine.

Lynch is expected to hold a press conference on the indictment later Wednesday morning.