Summary Police did not disclose the names of the suspects, but confirmed the arrests of 12 people.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Rio de Janeiro police have charged 12 people suspected of being part of a network that illegally sold millions of dollars in World Cup tickets, authorities said Thursday.
Lead investigator Fabio Barucke on Wednesday submitted the case to prosecutors, accusing the 12 of the "crimes of reselling tickets, and association with a view to committing an offense," civil police told AFP.
Police did not disclose the names of the suspects, but the announcement followed the arrests of 12 people, including the British executive of the company handling World Cup hospitality packages.
Police accuse Ray Whelan, a director of Zurich-based Match Services, a FIFA partner, of being involved with the unlawful ticket sales.
Match Services, for its part, accused Brazilian authorities of "arbitrarily and illegally" arresting Whelan at Rio s Copacabana Palace Hotel on Monday.
Whelan, 64, was released the next day, but police said he still faced charges of facilitating the illegal sale of tickets.
The prosecutor s office now has to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed against the suspects, who were not identified.
Police and prosecutors are applying Article 41 of a Brazilian statute which makes it illegal to sell tickets at a higher price than face value.
Match Services said there was "nothing inappropriate or criminal" about phone conversations between Whelan and French-Algerian suspect Mohamadou Lamine Fofana -- one of 11 people detained last week on suspicion of being part of a ticket scalping ring.
The company says Whelan discussed the sale of 24 hospitality packages at the correct price, although he rounded up the figure to $25,000 from $24,750 per package. Together, the 24 packages were worth $594,000.
Fofana was reported to have a number of tickets for Sunday s final between Germany and Argentina, although Match Services says the deal with Whelan never took place in the end.
Match Services has promised to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.
Ticket scalping is believed to have taken place at four previous World Cups, netting millions of dollars.
