Russian expert questions U.S. indictment of FIFA officials

The recent arrest of top managers of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) at U.S. request was illegal and would disrupt international order, said a Russian expert.

The American Department of Justice has recently indicted nine top FIFA officials and five corporate executives for alleged fraud, bribery and money laundering.

Seven of those officials were arrested by Swiss police on May 27 at the request of U.S. authorities.

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, six out of the seven have contested their extradition to the United States.

The United States placed their national legal system on top of the international one in trying to seize the officials from international organizations, said Igor Trunov, vice president of the Federal Lawyer Union in Russia.

"If one country can do so, why can't others follow suit?" said Trunov, pointing out that system neglect of international law would result in conflicts and wars in the worst cases.

He called for an effective anti-corruption system to combat such problems in international organizations, which he said should be established in world setups like the United Nations.

The move was a manifestation of U.S. attempts to extend its jurisdiction to foreign countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 28.

"It is possible that someone has violated something, but the U. S. has nothing to do with that," Kremlin press service quoted Putin as saying.

Putin said that prosecution of the FIFA top managers could be one way of the United States to "achieve its own selfish purposes." Endi