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Barclays launches review after FIFA probe: source

May 31, 2015 - 20:41 By 신현희

LONDON (AFP) -- Barclays has launched an internal review into whether its accounts were used for corrupt payments by FIFA officials, a banking source told AFP on Sunday.

It comes after the British bank was named in a US investigation into corruption at football's world governing body, in which seven FIFA officials were arrested this week in Zurich.

The source would not give any further details, and a Barclays spokesman declined to comment.

Barclays was among three banks with British headquarters named in the US indictment, which outlined how tens of millions of dollars were hidden in offshore accounts.

Another, Standard Chartered, said in a statement on Friday: "We are aware that two payments cleared by Standard Chartered are mentioned in the indictment. We are looking into those payments."

The third named bank, HSBC, has so far declined to comment.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office said Friday that it "continues actively to assess material in its possession and has made plain that it stands ready to assist ongoing international criminal investigations".

US authorities have so far indicted 14 people, including the seven FIFA officials held on Wednesday, on charges of involvement in $150 million of bribes for sports media contracts.

A senior US legal official has said more indictments are likely in the case.