Argentine executives admit to bribery in FIFAgate scandal

Two Argentine sports marketing executives, Hugo Gincis and Mariano Gincis, have admitted to bribing international football officials in a U.S. federal court. The father and son duo, co-owners of the Argentine company Full Play, entered into a plea agreement to avoid trial.

According to court documents, the men paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to secure lucrative media and advertising rights for various football tournaments, including World Cup qualifiers and the Copa América. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the United States will drop fraud charges against them, but they face the forfeiture of $50 million.

The admissions are part of the ongoing 'FIFAgate' corruption investigation that began in 2015. The scandal has significantly impacted FIFA and its continental confederations, previously leading to the downfall of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.