By Sara Germano
Nike Inc. moved to distance itself Thursday from the
wide-ranging probe into corruption at FIFA, saying that there were
no allegations that it committed a crime or that its employees
intentionally did anything wrong.
"The charging documents unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn do not
allege that Nike engaged in criminal conduct," the company said in
an emailed statement. "There is no allegation in the charging
documents that any Nike employee was aware of or knowingly
participated in any bribery or kickback scheme."
The comments followed the unsealing of a 161 page indictment by
the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday that included a
description of alleged bribery involving the Brazilian soccer
federation, a local sports marketing firm, and a U.S. multinational
sportswear company around an endorsement deal negotiated in
1996.
The indictment didn't mention Nike but alleged that a
representative for a company described as "Sportswear Company A"
agreed to be invoiced by the firm and made $30 million in payments
to a middleman between 1996 and 1999. Parts of those payments were
then used as bribes and kickbacks, according to the indictment.
Nike signed a sportswear outfitting deal with the Brazilian
federation in 1996, according to the company website. Nike said
Wednesday it has cooperated with the authorities and continues to
do so.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com
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