The World Cup in Qatar continues to make endless headlines.
Tonight (Thursday) the AP network publishes that a former CIA officer spied on Qatar's rivals in an attempt to host the prestigious tournament and helped the Gulf state land the World Cup that will begin next month.
The matter is now under investigation by the FBI after newly obtained documents show he offered secret services that went beyond soccer to try to influence US policy to vote for Qatar.
The months-long FBI investigation focuses on whether Kevin Chalker's work for Qatar violated laws related to foreign lobbying, surveillance and the export of sensitive technology and trade tools, said two people with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.
Chalker's goal, the AP found, was to boost Qatar's image among American decision-makers while undermining critics who have accused the Persian Gulf monarchy of financing terrorists and other wrongdoing.
Federal investigators have focused increasing scrutiny in recent years on Qatar's influence efforts, including those allegedly involving former US national security officials.
Chalker and his company - Global Risk Advisors (GRA) - tried to help Qatar host the 2022 World Cup by spying on football officials in rival countries.
This included deploying a Facebook network using an attractive woman to approach a target, someone posing as a journalist to follow one country's bid, and after the decision was announced in 2010, also trying to get a German soccer official to tone down his criticism of Qatar.
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