Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Thursday of meddling outside its jurisdiction by arresting FIFA officials on Wednesday, hinting that the corruption investigation is an attempt to prevent the 2018 World Cup from being held in his country.
"This is yet another blatant attempt [by the U.S.] to extend its jurisdiction to other states," Putin said, adding that the arrests were a "clear attempt" to prevent the re-election of FIFA President Sepp Blatter this week, according to The Moscow Times.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced corruption charges against 14 FIFA officials and sports executives, at least two of whom are American citizens. At the Justice Department's request, seven were arrested by Swiss police in Zurich during dawn raids. The allegations -- including racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery -- charge that the scheme gleaned "well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks" over 24 years, according to the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department alleged that U.S. officials were able to bring charges because much of the money went through U.S. banks, the Associated Press reported.
"It looks very strange, the arrests are carried out on the request of the USA side," Putin said, according to The Guardian. "They are accused of corruption - who is? International officials. I suppose that someone broke some rules, I don't know. But definitely, it's got nothing to do with the USA. Those officials are not US citizens. If something happened it was not in the US and it's nothing to do with them."
He continued: "It's another clear attempt by the USA to spread its jurisdiction to other states. And I have no doubt - it's a clear attempt not to allow Mr Blatter to be re-elected as president of Fifa, which is a great violation of the operating principles of international organisations. The US prosecutor, as our media report, has already said that those Fifa officials have committed a crime. As if the prosecutor didn't know about the principle of the presumption of innocence."
Putin likened the case to how the U.S. persecutes whistleblowers like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, both of whom have evaded prosecution by U.S. authorities by taking refuge abroad, Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and Snowden in Russia.
"Our American counterparts, unfortunately, are using the same methods to reach their goals and illegally persecute people. I don't rule out that this is the case in relation to FIFA," Putin said, according to AP. "I have no doubt that this is yet another evident attempt to derail Mr. Blatter's re-election as FIFA president. We are aware of the pressure that he was subjected to in relation to Russia holding the 2018 World Cup."
