The man behind the dossier is a former British spy, Christopher Steele, who is now a corporate intelligence consultant. In 2010, Steele helped deliver information about FIFA to the FBI that eventually led to indictments of many current and former officials of the soccer governing body, as well as the ouster of longtime FIFA president Sepp Blatter. [The World Cup appears likely to get a whole lot bigger next week]Reuters reported Thursday that it had viewed emails showing that Steele met with members of the FBI’s “Eurasian Organized Crime” squad. The ex-spy’s London-based consulting firm, Orbis Business Intelligence, had been hired in 2009 by England’s Football Association to investigate allegations of corruption by FIFA. England had been hoping to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, but FIFA awarded those tournaments to Russia and Qatar, respectively, amid accusations of bribery and other corrupt dealings.

Source: Washington Post January 13, 2017 05:37 UTC