BERN, Switzerland — Banks in Switzerland have reported 53 possible acts of money-laundering in the investigation of FIFA's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests, the country's attorney general said Wednesday. Michael Lauber said the “suspicious bank relations” were filed to comply with Switzerland's regulations against money laundering. The federal prosecutor described a “huge and complex” case which targets “criminal mismanagement and money-laundering” in the bidding contests which sent the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. Lauber is prepared for either country to be stripped of the hosting rights if new evidence proves wrongdoing. “I don't mind if this has some collateral (damage) somewhere else,” he said, addressing the media for the first time since the Swiss investigation into FIFA was announced three weeks ago. Swiss bank Julius Baer later said it has opened an internal investigation in connection with FIFA. Lauber said he “does not exclude” interviewing FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Secretary General Jerome Valcke in the future, though they are not currently under suspicion. Blatter is also a target of a separate investigation of bribery and racketeering led by US federal agencies, which are working with Swiss authorities. The American case alleged that senior FIFA voters received $10 million in bribes to support South Africa's successful bid for the 2010 World Cup. Valcke has been linked to transferring the money from a FIFA account on behalf of South African officials. Lauber, who led units specializing in organized crime in Switzerland and money laundering in Liechtenstein, said Wednesday that his task force is analyzing nine terabytes of data. Some of the 53 suspicious transactions are among 104 incidents previously notified to Swiss and American federal authorities, he said. Lauber's team has also pursued a line of inquiry into payments linked to a friendly match between Argentina and Brazil played in Doha two weeks before the FIFA vote. Both countries had long-serving delegates on FIFA's executive committee. An executive with Swiss-based marketing agency Kentaro, who worked with the Brazil team in 2010, told the Associated Press he gave evidence to Swiss police on May 27. Football's world governing body sent Lauber a 430-page investigation report submitted last September by FIFA's former ethics prosecutor, Michael Garcia. “I have coercive measures and I am independent,” Lauber said at a news conference called after his re-election by federal lawmakers for a four-year mandate. FIFA was thrown into crisis on May 27 with dual raids in Zurich on a luxury downtown hotel and its own headquarters two days before its presidential election. Two FIFA vice presidents, Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands and Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, were among seven football officials arrested by Swiss police acting on an American request. They face extradition to the US. Soosay quits Suspended Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Alex Soosay quit Wednesday rather than fight to clear his name amid allegations he tried to interfere with a corruption probe of the regional governing body. Soosay was suspended last month by the AFC after Malaysian media reported an official at the 46-member confederation had been asked by Soosay to “tamper or hide” documents during a 2012 external audit. A former player, Soosay held the position of AFC general secretary since 2008 following the retirement of his Malaysian compatriot Peter Velappan. — Agencies
