Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has hired a New York white-collar defense lawyer two weeks after he was linked to a $10 million payment that U.S. prosecutors allege was a bribe in support of South Africa’s World Cup bid.

Valcke has retained Barry Berke of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP to represent him, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because it isn’t public.

The French national hasn’t been charged in the U.S. investigation of corruption at soccer’s governing body. Valcke, 54, is the top lieutenant of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who announced June 2, four days after the U.S. indicted nine current and former FIFA officials and five corporate executives, that he would step down. Valcke has denied the $10 million payment was a bribe.

According to the indictment, a “high-ranking FIFA official” made the $10 million payment from the ruling body to accounts in New York that were overseen by Jack Warner, the former head of the Central American and North American soccer confederation, or Concacaf. The money was allegedly used to buy votes for South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup.

A person familiar with the case said earlier this month that Valcke is that official. Warner is among the former FIFA officials indicted and his sons, Daryan and Daryll Warner, have pleaded guilty in the investigation.

Valcke’s hiring of Berke was reported earlier Wednesday by Reuters. Blatter has hired Richard Cullen, another U.S. criminal defense lawyer, to represent him, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter. Cullen declined to comment.

Berke’s clients have included former SAC Capital Advisors LP money manager Michael Steinberg. Steinberg, who was found guilty of insider trading, has challenged his conviction. His case is on hold after the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York overturned the convictions of two fund managers in a related case.

The FIFA corruption case is U.S. v. Webb, 15-cr-00252, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).