Abakan CFO arrested on FIFA corruption charges

Christie Moffat

28-May-2015

Abakan CFO arrested on FIFA corruption chargesHOUSTON (ICIS)–Abakan announced an interim replacement for chief financial officer Costas Takkas after his detainment Thursday on racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges linked to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

The company issued a statement announcing it had suspended Takkas. Robert Miller, Abakan’s chief executive officer, will act as interim CFO.

With headquarters in Miami, Florida, Abakan produces coatings and metal formulations for applications across several industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals and energy.

Takkas is one of 14 defendants charged in an indictment issued by US District Court, Eastern District of New York.

The indictment alleges that between 1991 and the present, the defendants and their co-conspirators corrupted FIFA by engaging in various criminal activities, including fraud, bribery and money laundering.

In a statement, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said the offences largely involved alliances with sports marketing executives, who shut out competitors and kept highly lucrative contracts for themselves through the systematic payment of more than $150m in bribes and kickbacks.

A citizen of the United Kingdom, Takkas acted as attaché to the president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). He was previously the secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA).

Takkas and the other defendants are potentially facing a maximum jail sentence of 20 years each, along with mandatory restitution, forfeiture and fines.

The investigation is ongoing.

 

Case title: USA V. Webb et al

Case #: 1:15-cr-00252-RJD

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