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Fifa arrests: High-ranking officials detained at Zurich hotel


Two high-ranking Fifa officials have been arrested in a dawn raid at a Swiss hotel on suspicion of accepting millions of dollars of bribes.

Concacaf president Alfredo Hawit and Conmebol president Juan Angel Napout were taken from the Baur au Lac hotel, Zurich, where several Fifa officials were also arrested in May.
Fifa's executive committee is meeting in the city to vote on reforms.
It says it will "fully co-operate" with separate US and Swiss investigations.
The US Department of Justice requested Thursday morning's arrests and will hold a news conference at 18:30 GMT.
Hawit, 64, is interim president for North, Central America and Caribbean football, while Napout, 57, oversees football in the South American confederation.
"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," football's world governing body said.
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 organisation was engulfed by claims of widespread wrongdoing.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) has said Hawit and Napout are alleged to have taken money for selling marketing rights in connection with football tournaments in Latin America, as well as World Cup qualifying matches.
"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," the Swiss FoJ said.
Richard Conway Twitter
BBC Radio 5 live's Richard Conway is at the Baur au Lac Hotel in Zurich
A Swiss criminal investigation into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was also launched earlier this year, alongside the US inquiry.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter, 79, and Uefa president Michel Platini, 60, a Fifa vice president, are currently suspended for 90 days after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Blatter.
Fifa suspended the pair in October while Fifa's ethics committee investigates corruption claims against them. Both deny wrongdoing.
Shortly after the original Fifa arrests in May, Blatter announced he would step down as president in February 2016 after 17 years in charge, despite having been re-elected the previous week.
Two of the seven Fifa officials arrested in May, the then Concacaf president and Fifa vice-president, Jeffrey Webb, and the former head of Brazilian football, Jose Maria Marin, did not contest their extradition to the US to face charges.
The other five opposed extradition and are awaiting appeals against the move.
The seven were among a total of 14 people - nine Fifa officials and five sports and broadcast marketing executives - indicted by US prosecutors in May on corruption charges. Four other men made guilty pleas.
"Once again the US authorities have used the occasion of a Fifa meeting to strike.
"Effectively Fifa is being run by its lawyers right now. I'm told it's business as normal for them but the meeting later will now be dominated by these arrests.
"They will still hold a news conference later. I'm told there will be an emphasis to say Fifa are a victim in this - that they are the victims of actions by individuals and that Fifa are suffering as a result."

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