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(Refiles May 27 story to add word 'Certified' in name ofAssociation of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists,paragraph 16)
By Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - A raft of banks could facetough questions in the sweeping U.S. crackdown on allegedcorruption in global soccer as prosecutors review how much theyknew about millions of dollars in bribes flowing through theU.S. banking system to accounts around the world.
More than a dozen banks are named in the U.S. Department ofJustice's indictment of nine officials at FIFA, the game'spowerful governing body, and five sports media and promotionexecutives, over charges involving more than $150 million inbribes.
"Part of our investigation will look at the conduct of thefinancial institutions to see whether they were cognizant of thefact they were helping launder these bribe payments," Kelly T.Currie, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of NewYork, said at a news conference.
"It's too early to say if there is any problematic behavior,but it will be part of our investigation," he said.
On Wednesday, seven of the officials were arrested in anexpensive hotel in Zurich, and are facing extradition for theirrole in the alleged 24-year bribery scheme. Switzerland isconducting a separate probe into FIFA.
"The defendants relied heavily on the United Statesfinancial system in connection with their activities," theindictment said.
None of the banks named, including JPMorgan Chase,Citigroup, Bank of America, Barclays,HSBC, and Republic Bank, were accused of anywrongdoing. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Barclays and HSBCdeclined to comment. Republic did not respond to requests forcomment. Citi said it had been cooperating with the Departmentof Justice in the investigation.
Another bank, Delta National Bank & Trust Co, was used byJosé Hawilla's sports marketing company, the Traffic Group. Thecompany paid millions from its account at Delta in Miami to aFIFA member organization, according to the indictment ofHawilla, one of the individuals who pleaded guilty to the U.S.charges.
Hawilla obfuscated his payments using intermediaries such asbanks, financial advisors and currency dealers, according to theindictment.
Linda Chapman, who is in charge of compliance at NewYork-based Delta, did not have an immediate comment.
RED FLAGS
Eric Lewis, a partner at Washington-based law firm LewisBaach PLLC, said that the high profile of FIFA, and theprotracted timespan over which the alleged bribery scheme tookplace should have raised red flags for the banks.
"The officials at FIFA are likely to be what aretermed politically exposed persons, and at least at some pointshould have been on the radar screen of the banks," said Lewis,an expert in money laundering and racketeering cases.
U.S. banks are required to file reports to the FinancialCrimes Enforcement Network when they see suspicious activities,and most other countries have similar requirements.
Banks are required to make checks to ensure clients aren'tusing their accounts for criminal activities. They areresponsible for knowing their customers and having an idea ofthe source of their funds and the legitimacy of theiractivities, according to former FBI agent Dennis Lormel.
"The most telling thing is whether the banks were complicitwith wittingly laundering money for some of these officials,"said Lormel, chapter chair of the Association of CertifiedAnti-Money Laundering Specialists in Washington, D.C. "Morelikely, you're going to find the banks were unwittingparticipants."
(Reporting by Douwe Miedema and Karen Freifeld in Washington,additional reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and JuliaEdwards in Washington; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Martin Howell)
