Fifa Secretary General Valcke hires US lawyer for corruption probe

US prosecutors believe that Valcke was involved in $10 million in Fifa bank transactions that are a key part of the investigation, but he has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke has hired a prominent New York defense attorney in the face of corruption investigations that have rocked the world soccer body, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

FIFA-Secretary-General-Jerome-Valcke-at-the-end-of-a-Fifa-Executive-Committee-meeting-in-Zurich-after-formalizing-his-candidacy-for-a-5th-mandate-at-the-head-of-Fifa-According-to-reports-federal-authorities-believe-Valcke-made-some-10-million-in-bank-transactions-being-probed-in-the-ongoing-Fifa-bribery-scandal-AFP-File-Photo

Defense lawyer Barry Berke has been hired to represent Valcke, who is Fifa President Sepp Blatter's top lieutenant.

Berke, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, most recently represented Michael Steinberg, a portfolio manager at Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund. Steinberg was sentenced last year to three-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of engaging in insider trading.

US prosecutors believe that Valcke was involved in $10 million in Fifa bank transactions that are a key part of the investigation, a source said in early June. He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Valcke said last week that while he had signed off on the transactions, he had done nothing wrong, adding that allegations against him were "insanity".

Reuters reported earlier that Sepp Blatter has also hired a high-powered US lawyer to represent him, according to a person familiar with the matter.