In the case of the United States and its dominant role in the world, it’s not just a matter of hard power and soft power. You may be cowed by America’s ability to project overwhelming force into every corner of earth. You may be won over by the charms of Hollywood, Beyoncé or Kentucky Fried Chicken. But if neither hard nor soft does the trick, then watch out for American legal power.

For proof, look no further than the extraordinary goings-on in Zurich and New York last week, as Fifa executives were carted off at dawn from the Baur au Lac hotel by Swiss police, and the US attorney general and the director of the FBI unveiled charges of “rampant, systematic and deep-rooted corruption” involving world football’s governing body, dating back decades.

What spurred the investigation by American prosecutors is a matter of speculation. Maybe it was anger at the country’s failed bid to host the 2022 World Cup, amid suspicions that bribes were paid to garner votes for Qatar. Maybe it reflects a desire to wield greater influence on a sport that increasingly captivates America as well, or even the US legal system’s traditional abhorrence of white-collar crime.

But the pertinent question is: what’s this got to do with the US in the first place? After all, none of the seven Fifa officials arrested and now facing extradition are American citizens, and most of the alleged crimes did not involve Americans. Nor were they on US soil at the time. That, however, is to ignore the extraterritorial powers uniquely claimed by US law, and how little it takes to be caught by the prosecutorial net.

Channel a single transaction through the US banking system, communicate just once on the US phone system or via an American internet provider, or even make a layover at Kennedy airport during the period of your presumed wrongdoing – for the authorities here that is jurisdiction enough. And the foreign countries whose collaboration is required usually go along. Who wants to get on the wrong side of the world’s superpower?

Not that many tears are being shed for the Zurich Seven. Indeed, the US is being praised for doing what no other country would or could do, and tackling the endemic corruption at Fifa head-on. Loretta Lynch, the new attorney general, has become an improbable heroine of football fans the world over, as they collectively exhale “God Bless America”. But the Fifa case is very much the exception.

Deep down, you can’t help feeling, the biggest force behind America’s prosecutorial zeal overseas is a modern version of the mission civilisatrice embraced by the 19th-century colonial powers of Britain and France – a 21st-century drive by the US to export its values, this time via its criminal, tax, and regulatory laws, in an expression of American hegemony that some call “legal imperialism”.

And, as usual with great powers, blatant double standards don’t get in the way. Exuding moral superiority, the US claims that virtually any criminal on the planet is fair game. But its own government refuses to join the UN’s International Criminal Court which could subject US military personnel and politicians to a global standard of justice. Do as we say, in other words, not as we do.

Arguably, however, the most effective exercise of this “legal imperialism” is in the financial field. For which thank the global importance of the dollar, as irresistible in its way as all the might of the Pentagon. Take, for example, the record fine of $8.9bn imposed last year on the French bank BNP for violating US sanctions on Iran and Cuba.

The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Show all 14 1 /14 The Fifa bigwigs facing charges The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Jeffrey Webb, 50, Cayman Iskands A Fifa vice president. His arrest came as a big surprise, as he had been tipped as the man to clean up Fifa once Blatter departs. Webb is also president of Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) and the Cayman Islands Football Association Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Costas Takkas, 58, UK A British citizen, Mr Takkas is currently an attache to the Concacaf president. He was previously general secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association, of which Mr Webb is president The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Jack Warner, 72, (pictured), Daryan Warner, 46 and Daryll Warner, 40, Trinidad & Tobago The former Fifa vice president and head of Concacaf was a dominant force in football for 30 years, but was suspended from his roles in 2011 amid accusations of corruption dating back to the 1980s and an investigation by Fifa's ethics committee. He later resigned, ending the proceedings against him. Daryan Warner, the son of Jack Warner is also believed to have co-operated with the FBI. He pleaded guiltyin October 2013 to wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and the structuring of financial transactions, forfeiting $1.1m. Daryll Warner, another of Jack Warner's sons, he pleaded guilty to various offences in July 2013. A former Fifa development officer, he lost the job in 2012 after his father's resignation amid corruption allegations. He and his brother both face up to 10 years in prison Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Charles Blazer, 70, USA The former Concacaf general secretary reportedly turned "supergrass" to help the FBI inestigation, using a bugging device hidden inside a key fob to record meetigs with his Fifa colleagues at the London 2012 Olympics. In November 2013 he pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and income tax evasion. Seriously ill with colon cancer Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Rafael Esquivel, 68, Venezuela Executive committee member of the South American Football Confederetion (Conmebol). It is alleged that officials at Conmebol, which organises the Copa America, received bribes from marketing executives Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Eugenio Figueredo, 83, USA/Uruguay The Fifa vice president and executive committee member is a big name in world football, having previously been at the head of Conmebol and the Uruguayan Football Association. A former right-back Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Nicolas Leoz, 86, Paraguay A former Fifa executive committee member and Conmebol president. When he retired in 2013 for health reasons, he said: "I've not stolen so much as a cent" Getty The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Eduardo Li, 56, Costa Rica President of the Costa Rican Football Federation. He was elected to Fifa's executive commitee in March Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges José Maria Marin, 83, Brazil The former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation is also a member of Fifa's committee for Olympic tournaments Reuters The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Julio Rocha, 64, Nicaragua Fifa development officer. Previously president of his country's football federation EPA The Fifa bigwigs facing charges José Hawilla, 71, Brazil The owner and founder of the Traffic Group, a sports marketing conglomerate, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy in 2014. Two of his companies - Traffic Sports International Inc and Traffic Sports USA Inc - have also pleaded guilty youtube.com The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Aaron Davidson, 44, USA President of Traffic Sports USA, is a large promoter of football events in America AP The Fifa bigwigs facing charges Alejandro Burzaco, 50, (pictured), Hugo Jinkis, 70 and Mariano Jinkis, 40, Argentina Alejandro Burzaco, a media executive who controls Torneos y Competencias, a sports marketing business. Hugo Jinkis, is the president of Full Play Group, a sports marketing business in Argentina. His son Mariano, is vice president AP The Fifa bigwigs facing charges José Margulies (AKA José Lazaro), 75, Brazil Although he is in broadcasting, it is alleged he served as an intermediary to facilitate illicit payments between sports marketing executives and Fifa officials youtube.com

No country has a longer history than France of giving two fingers to the Americans from time to time, and Paris might have got on its high horse about an attack on national sovereignty and the country’s flagship bank. Instead, like all the other foreign banks that have paid massive US fines for various misdeeds, BNP merely grumbled and went along. It had no choice. Had the bank refused to pay, it would have been barred from US financial markets – a virtual kiss of death.

Buttressing this reality are various acts of Congress enshrining America’s claim to extraterritorial authority. One is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977, banning bribery of foreign officials, not just by American companies and individuals, but also by any foreign company whose shares are traded on US markets. That’s why the Justice Department launched an investigation (now closed) into bribes of police officials by British papers owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which is based in the US.

But the most toxic ingredient in this legislative alphabet soup is Fatca, or Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, passed in 2010 with the seemingly reasonable aim of flushing out money hidden in bank accounts abroad by wealthy Americans. The result has been a shambles.

The US is one of only two countries on earth that levies taxes based on citizenship rather than residence (the other is Eritrea), and the main effect of Fatca has been to make life a misery for many less than super-rich American expatriates who must now report their every dealing to the Internal Revenue Service, and find themselves shunned by their local banks, terrified of entanglement with the US tax authorities.

Last year, a record 3,415 Americans living abroad gave up their citizenship rather than endure the hassle. Just ask our own Boris Johnson, born in the US and thus automatically an American citizen. No problem until he was hit by a six-figure bill from the IRS on the capital gains from the sale of his home in London. “Outrageous,” he called it, but, like everyone else, Johnson coughed up. He now plans to renounce his citizenship.