The Clinton Foundation accepted millions of dollars in connection with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a new report finds.
According to The Daily Beast, the Clinton Foundation received between $250,000 and $500,000 from the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee in 2014 and between $1 million and $5 million from the State of Qatar in prior unknown years.
The donations were made to “prove the effectiveness and affordability of using both solar-powered hybrid cooling applications and converted football training facilities as housing for high-efficiency greenhouse food production in humid climates,” according to the philanthropic organization’s website. “If successful,” the site goes on to say, “the application of this innovative technology will allow for year-round food production and will enable farmers to increase the quality, consistency, and productivity of crops while decreasing the amount of water and energy consumed by agricultural production.”
Bill Clinton was an honorary chairman on the committee bidding for the United States to be the host nation for the 2018 or 2022 World Cups. When the tournaments were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, he reportedly broke a mirror in frustration. The Qatari donations might have been a peace offering.
Since the infrastructure for the World Cup started taking shape in Qatar four years ago, as many as 1,200 migrant workers may have died, according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and as many as 4,000 more will likely die before the first kickoff seven years from now.
Fourteen officials with FIFA are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for accepting bribes over a 24-year period, BBC News noted. A separate Swiss investigation is being conducted, specificially taking a look at the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich were raided Wednesday and seven officials were taken into custody. FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, was not among the charged.
The election for FIFA’s president is set to be held this weekend. Blatter is seeking a fifth term.
Is the Clinton Foundation complicit in the deaths of thousands of migrant workers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.