The chairwoman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, Ms Maria Claudia Rojas, has concluded her investigation into the activities of Rafael Esquivel Melo and Julio Rocha, and submitted the two reports, together with recommendations, to the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, which is chaired by Mr Vassilios Skouris.

As the US Department of Justice informed the public on 10 November 2016, Mr Esquivel Melo, a former vice-president of CONMEBOL and the former President of the Venezuelan FA, on 10 November 2016 pleaded guilty to seven counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, three counts of wire-fraud conspiracy, and three counts of money-laundering conspiracy. As the US Department of Justice moreover informed the public on 7 December 2016, Mr Rocha, the former President of the Nicaraguan FA and former president of The Central American Football Union, pleaded guilty to two counts of racketeering conspiracy and wire-fraud conspiracy.

In her final reports, the chairwoman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee recommended imposing on both Mr Esquivel Melo and Mr Rocha a lifelong ban on taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for an alleged violation of the general rules of conduct (art. 13 of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE)), loyalty (art. 15 FCE), duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting (art. 18 FCE), conflicts of interest (art. 19 FCE), bribery and corruption (art. 21 FCE) and general obligation to collaborate (art. 41 FCE).