• Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Exposed
  • About
  • Banks
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Join Us
  • About
  • Banks
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Join Us
No Result
View All Result
Exposed
No Result
View All Result
Home Banks

Bank Julius Baer Laundered Over $36 Million in FIFA Bribe Scheme

by Exposed
March 27, 2022 - Updated on September 13, 2022
3
127
SHARES
8.1k
VIEWS
Share on TwitterShare on TelegramShare on Whatsapp

Well-known Swiss Bank Julius Baer admits to laundering more than $36 million in bribes involving soccer officials of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and other soccer organizations.

The bribes were part of a scheme that involved sports marketing companies bribing soccer officials to get rights for broadcasting soccer matches. As a result, Bank Julius Baer (BJB) was officially charged with money laundering conspiracy. The bank admitted to the conspiracy in Brooklyn federal court on May 27, 2021. Julius Baer then entered into an agreement to resolve the investigation into its involvement in the money-laundering conspiracy. As a part of the said agreement, Julius Baer had to pay over $79 million in penalties. The penalties included a fine worth $43,320,000 and forfeiture worth $36,368,400. The arrangement was held in the presence of United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen.

Arzuaga’s Role in Bank Julius Baer’s Laundering Case

Jorge Luis Arzuaga, a former relationship manager in Bank Julius Baer pleaded guilty on June 15, 2017. Arzuaga, who worked in BJB’s offices in Zurich, Switzerland and Montevideo, Uruguay, was sentenced by the same judge to three years’ probation in November 2020.

From February 2013 to May 2015, Bank Julius Baer, via Arzuaga conspired with sports marketing executives to launder at least  $36,368,400 worth of bribes for soccer officials for rights to broadcast soccer games.

Among the said executives include Alejandro Burzaco, the then CEO of Torneos y Competencias, a sports marketing company in Argentina.  Burzaco admitted to the charges of racketeering conspiracy and other offenses associated with him paying bribes in November 2015. Bank Julius Baer conspired with Burzaco and others to perform illegal transactions through BJB accounts. The Bank helped conceal the actual nature of the payments and promote the scheme. At the time of the offense, Bank Julius Baer’s Anti-Money Laundering protocols failed to prevent or detect the money laundering scheme.

Had officials thoroughly reviewed Arzuaga’s due diligence on Torneos y Competencias, they would have seen several red flags. They would have seen the payments to third parties, fake contracts, and services reportedly provided by shell corporations. All of these transactions could have warned Bank Julius Baer about the money laundering scheme. According to Bank Julius Baer, the bank knew that the accounts of Arzuaga’s clients were linked to global soccer. BJB also understood that international soccer involved high risks. However, a BJB executive still approved and even rushed the opening of the accounts in an effort to profit a lot from them.

Moving Forward

Acting Assistant Attorney General McQuaid stated that the resolution sends a powerful message to all financial institutions that they will be held accountable if they hide their client’s crimes or promote a corrupt scheme.

“From the time of the first FIFA-related indictment, the Department has promised to hold accountable the financial institutions involved in this global criminal scheme. We are delivering on that promise,” McQuaid said.

Moreover, Julius Baer’s admission shows that IRS Criminal Investigation persistently goes after criminals who use their positions to damage and misuse the financial system.

Sources

  • Department of Justice
Tags: conspiracycorruptiondata leaksfraudmoney laundering
Previous Post

Husnu Ozyegin Billionaire Founder Under Investigation Brings to Light DNB’s Corruption

Next Post

ABN AMRO Latest Dutch Bank Targeted for Money Laundering, Settles for $574 million

Exposed

Exposed

Next Post
ABN AMRO logo and building

ABN AMRO Latest Dutch Bank Targeted for Money Laundering, Settles for $574 million

Comments 3

  1. Steven Williams says:
    12 months ago

    Knew FIFA was corrupt ever since Qatar won the world cup bid – perhaps an investigation into them would be a good exposed article?

    Reply
    • mike says:
      9 months ago

      yeah i second this UK should of got it. bloody scam for sure

      Reply
  2. mike says:
    9 months ago

    yeah i second this UK should of got it. bloody scam for sure

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

No Result
View All Result

Categories

  • Banks (14)
  • Business (7)
  • Tech (5)

About

Exposed is run by the Exposed Foundation, a startup created and supported by a group of like-minded students, activists, and journalists dedicated to exposing malpractice, fraud, and injustice in the financial industry.

Categories

  • Banks
  • Business
  • Tech

Tags

bank banks bribes conspiracy corporate crime corruption data leaks exposed fiba fraud husnu ozeygin lebanon money laundering ozeyin whistleblower

© 2022 Exposed - Exposing corruption around the World by means of the Exposed Foundation.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Banks
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Join Us
  • Login

© 2022 Exposed - Exposing corruption around the World by means of the Exposed Foundation.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.