DHAKA: Six football officials have been arrested at a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, over corruption charges at governing body Fifa.

Officials say, reports the BBC.

The suspects, who are said to include a Fifa vice-president, have been detained pending extradition to the US.

The charges include money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud.

Fifa members are gathering in Zurich for their annual meeting on Friday, where incumbent President Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.

However, Blatter is not understood to be one of them.

The New York Times says plain-clothed police officers took the room keys from the reception of Baur au Lac hotel, where the officials were staying, and headed to their rooms. It said the operation was carried out peacefully.

Fifa vice-president Jeffrey Webb has been named as one of the officials arrested, says the BBC’s Richard Conway, who is at Zurich hotel.

Webb is head of the confederation for North, Central America and the Caribbean.

New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said he also saw Fifa official Eduardo Li of Costa Rica being led by the authorities from his room out of the building.

A Fifa spokesman said the organization was seeking to clarify the situation.

BDST: 1238 HRS, MAY 27, 2015
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