More than a decade after the FIFA corruption scandal rocked world soccer, two Argentine sports marketing executives have now admitted paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to soccer officials in exchange for lucrative broadcasting and marketing rights.

Hugo Jinkis and his son Mariano Jinkis, the former owners of Argentine sports marketing company Full Play, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn on August 27 after reaching a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities.

As part of the agreement, the father and son admitted participating in a bribery scheme involving officials connected to FIFA, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.

They have also agreed to forfeit $50 million.

Bribes for Copa América and World Cup Qualifiers

According to court filings, the Jinkises admitted paying tens of millions of dollars in commercial bribes to soccer officials in exchange for support in obtaining valuable media and marketing contracts.

Those contracts included rights connected to some of the biggest competitions in Latin American soccer, including Copa América and South American World Cup qualifying matches.

The payments allegedly stretched back to the early 1990s and continued until 2015, when the massive U.S. investigation into corruption within international soccer exploded into public view.

Prosecutors alleged that sports marketing executives used bribes and kickbacks to secure valuable contracts while shutting competitors out of the market.

$50 Million Forfeiture

Under the deferred prosecution agreement, Hugo and Mariano Jinkis will surrender $50 million.

In return, U.S. prosecutors are expected to eventually dismiss the fraud charges against them if they comply with the terms of the agreement.

The arrangement means the two executives are unlikely to serve prison time.

Their admissions nevertheless represent another significant chapter in a scandal that transformed FIFA and exposed how enormous amounts of money were moving behind the scenes of international soccer.

What Was FIFAgate?

The FIFA corruption scandal became public in May 2015 when U.S. prosecutors announced charges against soccer officials and sports marketing executives.

Swiss authorities arrested several FIFA officials at a luxury hotel in Zurich as they prepared to attend a FIFA meeting.

The investigation ultimately exposed an extensive network of alleged bribery, fraud and money laundering involving officials throughout international soccer.

Authorities alleged that more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks had been solicited or received as part of the wider corruption schemes investigated by the United States.

Many of the allegations centred on the Americas, including officials connected with CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.

The scandal eventually produced more than two dozen convictions and guilty pleas.

The Argentine Connection

Full Play became one of the most important companies investigated during FIFAgate.

The Argentine company controlled or participated in valuable broadcasting and marketing contracts involving South American soccer.

Hugo and Mariano Jinkis were originally charged in 2015 but fought efforts to extradite them from Argentina to the United States.

More than a decade later, they travelled to New York as negotiations with federal prosecutors progressed.

Now, for the first time, the two executives themselves have formally admitted their involvement in the bribery scheme.

A Scandal That Still Isn’t Over

FIFAgate may have erupted in 2015, but its consequences continue to unfold more than 11 years later.

Soccer has changed dramatically since the first arrests in Zurich, with FIFA and regional confederations introducing reforms intended to improve transparency and oversight.

Yet the latest admissions provide another reminder of how deeply corruption had penetrated the business surrounding international soccer.

For Latin American fans, perhaps the most striking element is what was allegedly being bought.

These weren’t obscure competitions.

The money was connected to the commercial rights surrounding Copa América and the World Cup qualifiers watched by millions of people across South America.

And after more than a decade of investigations, court battles and extradition disputes, two of the Argentine businessmen at the centre of the scandal have now admitted paying the bribes.