Report: Blatter's top lieutenant Valcke made transfers worth $10 million 'central to bribery case'

The money trail is inching closer to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, the organization's No. 2 official, "made $10 million in bank transactions that are central elements of the bribery scandal engulfing international soccer," report The New York Times' William K. Rashbaum and Matt Apuzzo.

The Times adds:

Valcke, the soccer organization's secretary general, is the unidentified 'high-ranking FIFA official' who prosecutors say transferred $10 million in 2008 from FIFA to accounts controlled by another soccer official, Jack Warner, the officials said. The payment is a key piece of last week’s indictment accusing Mr. Warner of taking a bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 World Cup.

Valcke said in an email that he didn't authorize the payment and didn't have the authority to do so, according to the Times.

The chief executive of the 2010 South African World Cup bid said the money wasn't a bribe, and was used to fund a soccer development program in the Caribbean.

The money was transferred in three instalments in January and March 2008. Blatter denied last week that he was behind the payments. "Definitely that is not me," he said. "I have no $10 million."

FIFA announced Monday that Valcke will not attend the Women's World Cup in Canada, which begins June 6, "due to the current situation."