WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Justice Department was able to charge FIFA officials because only a minor link to the United States is required by US law to pursue criminal suspects abroad, international law attorney Steven Schneebaum told Sputnik.
“[T]he Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act… allows the United States, in particular the Department of Justice, to prosecute crimes that involve mail fraud or wire fraud that has only a slight connection to the United States,” Schneebaum said on Thursday.
The US request for extradition of the FIFA officials on corruption charges on Wednesday provides a dramatic illustration of the Justice Department’s power, Schneebaum argued, but similar cases occur all of the time.
“[T]here obviously is a legitimate concern over the extent of the extraterritorial reach of American statute,” Schneebaum warned.
There is no rule in international law, Schneebaum noted, that forbids a country from exercising extraterritorial jurisdiction when there is a connection.
“For example, one of the participants may have been in the United States, or an American bank may have been used, or even an American internet service provider,” Schneebaum explained.
He noted under US law “those connections are sufficient to confer jurisdiction on US courts and the Justice Department can go ahead and prosecute.”
The United States has treaties with various countries around the world with provisions that allow the US government to seek and extradite suspected criminals, the international legal expert added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he did not rule out that in the FIFA case the United States used the same methods for charging WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to achieve its goals.
Putin observed that Snowden was, at least, a citizen of the United States, whereas Assange was an Australian, but still forced to seek asylum to avoid being transferred to US soil.
The 65th FIFA Congress is taking place in Zurich on Thursday and Friday. Only two nominees — current FIFA president Blatter, employed in this position since 1998, and current FIFA Vice President for Asia, Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan — are running for the FIFA presidency.
On Tuesday, US Senators Bob Menendez and John McCain said in a statement that the FIFA board should elect a new president who would strip Russia the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
