Peter Hargitay

Courtesy of transparencyinsport 

  Revealed – Blatter’s Spin Doctor Peter Hargitay Devises FIFA Reform ‘Road Map’ By Andrew Jennings



  Friday January 6, 2012: Sources inside FIFA HQ in Zurich have confirmed that President Blatter’s survival plan has been created by his ‘Strategic Advisor’ Peter Hargitay, a man with a ‘colourful’ past who boasts that he can divert attention from damaging stories about his clients. And look who Blatter has appointed chair of FIFA’s Media Committee. It is new Executive Committee member Mohamed Raouraoua from Algeria, ranked at 135 in world press freedoms.

Sepp Blatter’s attempts to convince the world he wants to reform FIFA are being master-minded by Peter Hargitay, the ‘crisis manager’ who worked to polish the image of sanctions buster and tax dodger Marc Rich and of the Union Carbide company after the appalling industrial disaster in Bhopal, India, that cost thousands of lives.

His latest mission is to distract attention from Blatter’s attempts to avoid publishing the report of Zug Investigating magistrate Thomas Hildbrand into FIFA officials who took kickbacks for awarding marketing contracts to the ISL company. This report is believed to reveal Blatter’s involvement in the bribes scandal. Last month the appeal court in Zug ruled it was in the public interest that the report is published.

Hargitay has devised the creation of ‘task forces’ which Blatter claims will reform FIFA. These include examining FIFA’s statutes, ethics, transparency and compliance. It sounds impressive but is intended to prevent independent investigations of serious corruption at football’s governing body.

Diverting reporters

It will take many months for any proposals to be considered by FIFA’s ExCo. Three of the members – plus Blatter - who have to approve it are Issa Haytou, Nicolas Leoz and Ricardo Teixeira. All have been linked to payments from ISL. Then they will be presented to FIFA’s Congress this summer. Blatter’s ‘road map’ is planned to be completed in the middle of 2013 when he hopes to secure the rest of his term in office.

Hargitay was first hired by Blatter in 2002 to divert reporters from the growing ISL scandal. On his website Hargitay promised clients ‘powerful strategies to “stay out of the media”’ and to prepare such briefs, news items and alternative scoops that would divert, detract and destabilise imminent media interest.’

At the same time Hargitay was a principal operator at the Zurich-based ABI private investigation company that offered clients ‘covert operation assignments,’ a ‘software expert with hacker-credentials’ and ‘military and government-level surveillance’ operations. Another of his companies boasted that it could crack private bank accounts.

Cocaine trafficking

Previously Hargitay was remanded in custody for seven months in Miami accused of cocaine trafficking. He was acquitted.

Hargitay was hired by the English FA but ‘let go’ when he reportedly asked for £4 million to bribe FIFA ExCo members to award the 2018 World Cup to England. Hargitay was then recruited by the equally unsuccessful Australian bid to host the 2022 tournament.

The involvement of Hargitay in Blatter’s schemes is likely to be of concern to members of the Independent Governance Commission (IGC), set up by Blatter and chaired by distinguished Professor Mark Pieth. They include former British Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith.

                                           Sepp Blatter and Peter Hargitay

Blatter has appointed new Executive Committee member Mohamed Raouraoua from Algeria, ranked at 135 in world press freedoms, to be chair of FIFA’s Media Committee. Mr Raouraoua is also a member of FIFA’s Legal Committee. He became a member of FIFA’s ExCo after Nigeria’s Amos Adamu was found guilty of soliciting a bribe. Here he is pictured with another FIFA ExCo member Issa Hayatou who last month was reprimanded by the IOC last month over a payment he received from ISL. Hayatou is from Cameroun which ranks at 129th in the Press Freedom Index.

Raouraoua and Issa Hayatou

                      Mohamed Raouraoua

  Lord Peter Goldsmith – member of the IGC

http://tinyurl.com/87h94jo  Courtesy of ...

World Cup mistake was playing it 'clean': consultant - Peter Hargitay.

Peter Hargitay - Spindoctor to the world 

Peter Hargitay, the Swiss-Hungarian behind Mohamed Bin Hammam’s controversial FIFA election campaign in May.

In the 1980s Hargitay worked as a media-fixer in Switzerland.

When the Union Carbide company’s chemical factory in Bhopal, India, exploded in 1984, killing 16,000 people, maiming thousands more – and leaving a ghastly legacy of damaged babies - the company called on his special services.

Hargitay masterminded their battle to avoid paying fair compensation. He has boasted of his success on his websites. The people of Bhopal still wait for justice.

                                               The children of Bhopal – and the factory ruins                                     

       Hargitay moved on to work for Marc Rich, the fugitive from American justice, who based himself in Zug, Switzerland. Marc Rich was famous for being America’s biggest-ever tax dodger. He was named as one of America’s Ten Most Wanted.

 But Marc Rich committed a greater crime. He made another fortune secretly breaking UN sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa.

 He sold the white minority the oil they needed to lubricate their repressive domination of the majority of the population.

 

 Here’s Peter Hargitay (left) toasting their success with Marc Rich and his wife.
(Photo courtesy Blick)

Peter Hargitay moved to Jamaica where he operated a shipping business – CEA Lines - around the Caribbean.

 In 1995 Jamaican police discovered cocaine hidden on CEA boat the Pilar Del Caribe. Hargitay was sent for trial accused of trafficking - but later acquitted.

  Hargitay then launched a media campaign accusing the American Government of being behind his arrest - because he would not assist them capture Marc Rich.

  The US Information Office boss Michael Houlahan wrote to the Jamaican press rebutting Hargitay’s bizarre and unsubstantiated claims.

    

     The Pilar Del Caribe was left to rot in Kingston harbour.

      
In April 1987 Peter Hargitay was detained by police at Miami airport. It was a big story in Jamaica.



He was arrested on an Interpol warrant, accusing him of fraud in Hungary.

Later the US authorities indicted him for cocaine trafficking.

He was committed to prison for seven months by a Florida judge because of fears that he might flee.



Subsequently he won an acquittal.

Meanwhile there was still controversy – and mystery - over the CEA shipping company.
It was taken over by a company named Rocky Mountain International. They were very critical of Hargitay – but later had their shares suspended and legal action taken against executives by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s hard to judge if Hargitay was culpable – or a victim.



He returned to Zurich and became a partner in a ‘dirty tricks’ private detective agency, the abi company. He offered ‘military and government level surveillance’ services to his clients.

Here is its website. He is the Swiss-Hungarian Senior Partner on the ‘Profiles’ page



http://tinyurl.com/83zjmwz  'Unseemingly Appointment'

Prior to publication Mr Hargitay was sent – as media law requires – a letter posing the questions that motivated the article. He was given the opportunity to explain, deny – say whatever he wanted. That is called ’being fair.’

Instead of dealing with the questions he lost control and exploded in rage. Many readers took his reply ‘If you are man enough (!) we can meet face to face . . .’ as an invitation to a duel or physical fight.

He also said he would ‘let me know when and where.’ Thirteen months have passed and no explanations have been forthcoming.

Now his lawyer claims that he is not given the opportunity to answer questions prior to publication!

http://tinyurl.com/82qoywr  "I have had quite enough of your..." Be my guset and read on.

He also set up another website where he boasted that he could access other peoples’ bank accounts. ‘We invade a system of injustice and operate from within the eye of the cyclone… We investigate the persecutors and publish their foreign bank accounts.’



Hargitay then set up his ‘European Communications & Research Think Tank’ that promised to deliver ‘sensitive investigative data to clients.’

It didn’t – and soon disappeared.

http://tinyurl.com/6u3dt6y 

Part Two...Later.