Venable partner Ed Wilson was quoted in a July 28, 2015 Law360 article on things to watch in the ongoing FIFA corruption investigation. Last month, FIFA president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter resigned following the arrest of several top FIFA officials on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The investigation is also looking into allegations of widespread corruption involving World Cup bids and marketing and broadcast deals.
"I would be really surprised if more people were not implicated, given how much money is involved and how they used contracts for the payments," said Wilson. "There were others involved who knew they were getting more money than they should have." With the possibility of more charges, FIFA is facing pressure to reform its governing body that has been dogged with accusations of corruption for years. "Going forward, they need to prove to the world that they have good management free from cronyism, strong internal controls and solid external auditing," Wilson added. "To me, those are the three major things that help you."