See high-ranking Fifa officials ‘arrested over £65million bribery’ case [PHOTOS]

Several top Fifa officials have been arrested in Zurich on corruption charges, New York Times reports..

These officials are facing extradition to the U.S. amid accusations of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud over a period of 20 years.

Police in Switzerland picked them up from a hotel in Zurich where they are staying for the Fifa Congress, where Sepp Blatter faces a challenge from Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein in a presidential election on Friday. Read more..

(L-R, from upper row) Rafael Esquivel, Nicolas Leoz, Jeffrey Webb, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Eugenio Figueredo and Jose Maria Marin (Picutre: AFP)

The Swiss government this morning said there had been six arrests while Fifa said it was seeking to clarify the situation. Sepp Blatter is not believed to be among those arrested.

The New York Times said more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived at Zurich’s Baur au Lac hotel early on Wednesday, took keys from the registration desk and headed up to the rooms.

One Fifa official was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel, the Times said, adding that officials from the body’s powerful executive committee were being targeted.

A statement from the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, which confirmed the alleged offences occurred ‘between the early 1990s and the present day’, said: ‘The US authorities suspect them of having received bribes totalling in the millions.

Picture of plainclothes Swiss police showing documents to FIFA hotel clerk: pic.twitter.com/LVV8Ai9hxt

— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) May 27, 2015