By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, in Rio de Janeiro
The British hospitality executive accused of being the central figure in a multi-million-dollar ticket touting operation was allegedly in possession of 82 World Cup passes when he was arrested.
The tickets were allegedly seized along with a quantity of cash by police in Rio de Janeiro when they arrested Ray Whelan at the Copacabana Palace Hotel.
The hotel, Rio's grandest, is Fifa's base for the tournament and also the hub for operations provided by official hospitality company Match Hospitality, of which Whelan is a director.
Police told Sky News Whelan was released from police custody at 5am on Tuesday under "habeas corpus", the equivalent of bail, and allowed to return to the hotel.
He has denied any involvement in the illegal sale of tickets and has surrendered his passport.
He is not permitted to leave the country.
Whelan was arrested at 3.40pm local time on Monday and taken to a Rio police station where he was questioned overnight.
He was detained in the lobby of the hotel, which is also home to Fifa president Sepp Blatter for the duration of the tournament, and taken to his suite on the fifth floor by prosecutor Marcos Kac.
The cash and tickets were allegedly seized, as well as a computer and mobile phone which have been sent for analysis.
Ever since their crackdown began, Brazilian police have said they believed the ringleader and source of the tickets was within the official Fifa operation and staying at the Copacabana Palace.
Whelan's arrest is acutely embarrassing for Fifa and raises fresh questions about its relationship with Match and the operation of licensed hospitality operations.
A Cheadle-based company run by Mexican brothers Jaime and Enrique Byrom, Match has been a Fifa partner since 1994 and has the hospitality contract through to the 2022 World Cup.
The company suffered a loss on the 2010 World Cup, which took place in the teeth of the global financial crash, but had been forecast to recoup that loss and make a substantial profit on the Brazil tournament.
Blatter's nephew Phillippe Blatter is chief executive of a company that owns a significant shareholding in Match.
Whelan's arrest is part of a major anti-ticket touting operation targeting a gang which police say was set to turnover close to $200m (£117m) on the World Cup.
Police have already arrested 11 people they accuse of illegally reselling tickets above face value in contravention of Brazilian law and Fifa rules.
Among them is Franco-Algerian Mohamadou Lamine Fofana, who police believe was the conduit to the source of the tickets.
Other arrests have followed wiretaps on his phone.
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