Fifa crisis: Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered to launch internal review following FBI investigation
Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered are all believed to have launched internal investigations into their role in the Fifa corruption scandal that has engulfed world football this week.
The British banks were all named in the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) lawsuit against 14 people – including nine Fifa officials – for racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
Accounts located at the three banks were used to facilitate illicit money transfers according to allegations in the 164-page complaint which details over $150m in bribes paid in exchange for commercial marketing rights and football tournaments.
Reports citing sources inside the lenders say HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered have started internal investigation into how they could have got caught up in the scandal. All three were unavailable for comment when contacted by City A.M.
Read more: Serious Fraud Office to examine Fifa allegations
Last week the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it would examine information relating to alleged Fifa corruption, but is not yet launching a criminal investigation.
Other major global banks named in the indictment included JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, UBS and Julius Baer.
Federal prosecutor Kelly Currie confirmed banks would be a part of the investigation, saying: "It's too early to say whether there is any problematic behaviour but it [role of financial institutions] will be part of our investigation."