FIFA Partner, Wanted in World Cup Ticket Scam, Is On the Run - Follow the bouncing ball...

[Magda Hassan]

FIFA Partner, Wanted in World Cup Ticket Scam, Is On the Run

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Ray Whelan, a longstanding director and project manager within the MATCH group, arrives at a police station after been arrested, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, July 7, 2014.Image: STR/Associated Press


SAO PAULO, Brazil - FIFA partner Ray Whelan gave police in Rio de Janeiro the slip Thursday, just moments before officers were set to re-arrest him on charges of illegally selling World Cup tickets, local media reported.
Whelan, 64, is CEO of Switzerland-headquartered Match Hospitality, FIFA's exclusive provider of hospitality packages for the World Cup. He is now officially considered a fugitive.
The British national was first arrested Monday after police alleged he was involved in a long-running, international World Cup ticket scam, but was later freed after questioning. Whelan was also said to have handed in his passport and FIFA credentials for the duration of the tournament.

Rio court orders re-arrest of Match Hosp CEO Ray Whelan over #WorldCup ticket scam. Police searching for him after he left Copacabana Palace
Ben Tavener (@BenTavener) July 10, 2014

But earlier on Thursday a judge accepted an indictment on Whelan from Rio's public prosecutor and ordered he be taken back into custody. Officers went to locate him at the world-renowned Copacabana Palace hotel but when they went to his room, he was nowhere to be found.



Image: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images

"He left through the staff exit; we saw from the [CCTV] footage that he was leaving in a hurry," police chief Fábio Barucke told reporters. "He is considered a fugitive."
Police said surveillance video showed Whelan leaving about an hour before officers arrived.

Police in rio say fugitive Ray Whelan obviously left his hotel room in a hurry - TV set on, his shoes on the floor #bbcworldcup
Ben Brown (@BenBrownBBC) July 10, 2014

O Globo newspaper reported the FIFA partner had escaped accompanied by his attorney, Fernando Fernandes, who was now said to be negotiating with the authorities over the terms on which Whelan would hand himself in.
Fernandes was quoted by the G1 news portal as saying the arrest warrant was "illegal" and that Whelan would appeal the decision.

#Rio Police say UK executive of #FIFA partner has "fled arrest" over #WorldCup ticket scandal. Ray Whelan earlier protested his innocence.
Wyre Davies (@WyreDavies) July 10, 2014

Still, Brazil's federal police later added Whelan to airports' wanted list, barring him from leaving the country.
Whelan is one of 12 suspects charged with involvement in an illegal ticket sales scheme, which is thought to have made in excess of $90 million per tournament.
Brazilian investigators believe the scam could have been in operation all the way back to the 2002 World Cup, hosted jointly between Japan and South Korea.
The gang is believed to have made so much money from the scam that they could afford to lie low between tournaments, but a three-month investigation by Brazilian police finally led to the group's downfall.
FIFA said it would comply fully with police requests for cooperation in the investigation.
The news first broke after the arrest of Algerian national Mohamadou Lamine Fofana, who was suspected of masterminding the scam.
Police seized tickets, computers, cash, phone and documents, and later alleged they found Lamine had made 900 calls to an official FIFA cell phone, and had enjoyed unfettered access to restricted World Cup areas.
Calls broadcast Sunday on Brazil's Fantástico TV program showed Lamine bragging about having an array of "gold-dust" tickets to top World Cup fixtures - including this Sunday's World Cup final in Rio's famous Maracanã stadium.

http://mashable.com/2014/07/10/fifa-part...-the-slip/