Three defendants in FIFA corruption scandal probe plead not guilty for charges of wire fraud in US court

New York: Two former 21st Century Fox executives and a South American sports marketing company pleaded not guilty on Thursday to criminal charges in New York in the long-running corruption probe surrounding FIFA, the world governing body for football. [caption id=“attachment_4435431” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The former Fox executives Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez and Full Play Group SA entered their pleas before US District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn at an arraignment conducted by phone. All three defendants were charged on Monday with wire fraud and with money laundering conspiracy, while Full Play was also charged with racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors accused the defendants and co-conspirators of bribing football officials to secure media and marketing rights to football tournaments, using shell companies and sham consulting contracts to hide the scheme. The charges were the latest in a sprawling FIFA corruption probe that US prosecutors unveiled in May 2015.