Two FIFA officials have been arrested in a dawn raid at the luxury Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich on suspicion of accepting millions of dollars of bribes.
Police swooped on the luxury hotel, where several FIFA officials were arrested in May.
A two-day meeting of FIFA’s executive committee is taking place in Zurich, Switzerland, to vote on reforms.
“FIFA became aware of the actions taken today by the US Department of Justice,” the soccer’s world governing body said.
“FIFA will continue to co-operate fully with the US investigation as permitted by Swiss law, as well as with the investigation being led by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General.
“FIFA will have no further comment on today’s developments.”
In May, seven FIFA officials, including two vice presidents, were arrested at the same hotel at the request of a US investigation into corruption, as the organization was engulfed by claims of widespread wrongdoing.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) has said the two people arrested overnight are alleged to have taken money for selling marketing rights in connection with soccer tournaments in Latin America, as well as World Cup qualifying matches.
“A further two FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich today,” the Swiss FoJ said on December 3.
“They are being held in custody pending their extradition [to the US]. According to the US arrest requests, they are suspected of accepting bribes of millions of dollars.”
Swiss officials said they would release the names of the two arrested people and the outcomes of the hearings later on Thursday, December 3.
A Swiss criminal investigation into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was also launched earlier this year, alongside the US inquiry.
Six FIFA officials have been arrested in Zurich over corruption charges at the soccer governing body and face extradition to the US, Swiss authorities say.
Separately, Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup bids.
The suspects, who include a FIFA vice-president, allegedly accepted bribes worth $150 million over 20 years.
FIFA members are due to vote on May 29 in a presidential election when incumbent Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.
However, Sepp Blatter is not understood to be one of those arrested.
Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan – Sepp Blatter’s rival for the FIFA presidency – described the development as “a sad day for football”, but withheld from commenting further.
FIFA’s Zurich headquarters has also been raided, with documents seized, Swiss prosecutors say.
Among those arrested in Zurich are: Jeffrey Webb – head of the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, CONCACAF; Jack Warner, former FIFA vice-president; Costa Rica’s national football chief Eduardo Li, who was due to join FIFA’s executive committee on May 29; Uruguay’s Eugenio Figueredo, president of South American football governing body CONMEBOL; Brazil’s Jose Maria Marin, a member of FIFA’s club committee.
Police were seen carrying Jose Maria Marin’s suitcase and some of his possessions in plastic bags.
Several officials have already pleaded guilty, the US Department of Justice says. These include Charles Blazer, the former head of CONCACAF, who was previously on the FIFA executive committee.
A FIFA spokesman said the governing body was seeking to clarify the situation.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said in a statement on May 27 that US authorities suspected the officials of receiving $150 million worth of bribes since the early 1990s for football tournaments in Latin America.
The crimes were agreed to and prepared in the US via US bank accounts, the statement adds.
Swiss authorities can immediately approve the extradition, it continues.
In a separate move, prosecutors opened criminal proceedings “against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups,” said a statement from the Swiss attorney-general.
Cybathlon, the first championship for robot-assisted parathletes, will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 8, 2016.
The event will include a race where competitors control an avatar via a brain interface.
There will also be races for competitors wearing prosthetic limbs and exo-skeletons.
Hosted by the Swiss National Competence Center of Research, it is hoped the competition will spur interest in human performance-enhancing technology.
The brain-computer interface race is designed for competitors who are paralyzed from the neck down. They will control an avatar in a computer racing game via a headset that connects the brain to a computer.
There will also be races for those wearing arm or leg prosthetics, an exoskeleton race and a wheelchair race.
The assistive devices worn by the athletes, who will be known as pilots, can either be ones that are already commercially available or prototypes from research labs.
There will be two medals for each competition, one for the pilot and one for company that developed the device.
Cybathlon will take place in Zurich on October 8, 2016
Bionic limbs and exoskeletons are becoming much more technically advanced, offering those wearing them much more realistic movements.
Prof. Hugh Herr, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), showed off some of the prosthetics that his team have been working on at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver last week.
He is currently in negotiations with health care professionals to get the bionic limbs more widely available to those who need them.
Often though there was a disconnect between technology and patients, said Prof. Robert Riener, event organizer, from the University of Switzerland.
The other main aim of the games is to allow people to compete who have never had the opportunity before.
Cybathlon, the first Championship for Robot-Assisted Parathletes, will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 8, 2016.
The event will include a race where competitors control an avatar via a brain interface.
There will also be races for competitors wearing prosthetic limbs and exo-skeletons.
Hosted by the Swiss National Competence Center of Research, it is hoped the competition will spur interest in human performance-enhancing technology.
The brain-computer interface race is designed for competitors who are paralyzed from the neck down. They will control an avatar in a computer racing game via a headset that connects the brain to a computer.
There will also be races for those wearing arm or leg prosthetics, an exoskeleton race and a wheelchair race.
The assistive devices worn by the athletes, who will be known as pilots, can either be ones that are already commercially available or prototypes from research labs.
There will be two medals for each competition, one for the pilot and one for company that developed the device.
Bionic limbs and exoskeletons are becoming much more technically advanced, offering those wearing them much more realistic movements.
Prof. Hugh Herr, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), showed off some of the prosthetics that his team have been working on at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver last week.
He is currently in negotiations with health care professionals to get the bionic limbs more widely available to those who need them.
Often though there was a disconnect between technology and patients, said Prof. Robert Riener, event organizer, from the University of Switzerland.
The other main aim of the games is to allow people to compete who have never had the opportunity before.
The Swiss sales assistant who refused to show Oprah Winfrey a luxury handbag costing nearly $35,000 claims the superstar lied about what happened in the Trois Pommes luxury boutique where she works.
Speaking anonymously to Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick, the Italian bag lady said she felt “powerless” and in the grip of a “cyclone” after Oprah Winfrey went on TV in America to claim she had been the victim of racism.
Oprah Winfrey was in Switzerland in July when she walked into the Trois Pommes boutique in Zurich looking for a handbag to match the outfit she was going to wear to old friend Tina Turner’s wedding.
She claims the sales assistant refused to show her the black crocodile leather bag because – seeing a black woman – she automatically assumed she would not be able to afford it.
Now the saleslady has hit back, stating: “I wasn’t sure what I should present to her when she came in on the afternoon of Saturday July 20 so I showed her some bags from the Jennifer Aniston collection.
“I explained to her the bags came in different sizes and materials, like I always do.
“She looked at a frame behind me. Far above there was the 35,000 Swiss franc crocodile leather bag.
“I simply told her that it was like the one I held in my hand, only much more expensive, and that I could show her similar bags.
“It is absolutely not true that I declined to show her the bag on racist grounds. I even asked her if she wanted to look at the bag.
Oprah Winfrey claims Trois Pommes sales assistant refused to show her a black crocodile leather bag because, seeing a black woman, she automatically assumed she would not be able to afford it
“She looked around the store again but didn’t say anything else. Then she went with her companion to the lower floor. My colleague saw them to the door. They were not even in the store for five minutes.”
She emphatically denied ever saying to Oprah Winfrey: “You don’t want to see this bag. It is too expensive. You cannot afford it.”
The saleslady went on: “This is not true. This is absurd. I would never say something like that to a customer. Really never. Good manners and politeness are the Alpha and the Omega in this business.
“I don’t know why she is making these accusations. She is so powerful and I am just a shop girl.
“I didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t know why someone as great as her must cannibalize me on TV.
“If it had all taken place as she claimed, why has she not complained the next day at the wedding of Tina Turner with Trudie Goetz, my boss? She was there also at the Turner wedding as a guest. I don’t understand it.
“I spoke to Oprah Winfrey in English. My English is okay but not excellent, unfortunately.
“I didn’t know who she was when she came into the store. That wouldn’t have made any difference if I had.
“We work really hard to greet all the people who come into the store with the same level of respect and treat them all equally.
“If someone asks me whether he or she can see an article, I always present these. Because that person is a potential buyer. And my job is to sell it.
“I’m glad if I can sell an article. It is a reward for me, if I can sell a nice piece. This means that I’m good at my job.”
She has worked in the store for five years and says 50% of the clientele come from abroad and that a bag costing nearly $35,000 is sold “only a few times a year”.
Asked what she would say to Oprah Winfrey now she added: “I would apologize and say it was all a misunderstanding. I surely did not intentionally want to insult Ms. Winfrey. I hope this nightmare ends soon.”
Trudie Goetz, the owner of Zurich store where Oprah Winfrey says she encountered racism, has called the incident a “misunderstanding”.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, claimed an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop.
She was apparently told one of the bags on display was “too expensive” for her.
Trudie Goetz told the BBC that Oprah Winfrey was “absolutely allowed” to look at the $35,000 bag, which was kept behind a screen.
“My salesperson wanted to give her the handbag in her hand. But she didn’t want to take the bag,” claimed Trudie Goetz.
The shop owner said her assistant had worked in the Trois Pommes store “for a few years and takes care of the most spoilt customers from all over the world”, adding, “she is really a correct sales person”.
Oprah Winfrey visited Zurich last month to attend Tina Turner’s wedding. Her programme The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, claimed an assistant refused to serve her in a Zurich upmarket handbag shop
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Oprah Winfrey said: “I go into a store and I say to the woman, <<Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?>> and she says to me, <<No. It’s too expensive>>. “
When Oprah Winfrey insisted, the shop assistant allegedly replied: “No, no you don’t want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that.”
The star said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
“There’s two different ways to handle it,” Oprah Winfrey said.
“I could’ve had the whole blow-up thing… but it still exists, of course it does.”
Trudie Goetz did not call into question Oprah Winfrey’s perception of the events.
“I didn’t take care of [Oprah Winfrey]. I’m sure she felt like this – but my salesgirl promised me she took care of [her] really the best she could. So it must have been a misunderstanding,” she said.
Trudie Goetz said her assistant spoke both Italian and English, “but her English isn’t as good”.
“She tried to show Mrs. Oprah the same style in other qualities, because maybe she didn’t understand what she wanted.”
Oprah Winfrey’s claims come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
Human rights groups have likened the plans – which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries – to apartheid.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.
The talk show host said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were “too expensive” for her.
Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
Human rights groups have likened the plans – which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries – to apartheid.
Oprah Winfrey was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland
Oprah Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels’ new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner’s wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
She said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
“There’s two different ways to handle it,” Oprah Winfrey said.
“I could’ve had the whole blow-up thing… but it still exists, of course it does.”
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
Switzerland’s asylum laws were tightened in June.
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