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Federation Internationale de Football Association official agrees United States extradition
Posted On Jul 10 2015
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NEW YORK: Jeffrey Webb, one of seven current and ex- officials of soccer’s world governing body Federation Internationale de Football Association detained in Switzerland in a corruption probe, has agreed to be extradited to the United States, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Neither the US Attorney’s office or Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland would comment on the extradition process.
His agreement meant Swiss authorities were “able to approve his extradition immediately in a simplified procedure”, the ministry said in a statement.
It added that, in keeping with usual practice, it would not give details of when he would be handed over.
The official is one of seven – all from South America or the CONCACAF zone of North and Central America and the Caribbean – arrested in a dawn raid on a Zurich hotel on May 27.
“The marketing rights in question pertain to the broadcast of qualifying matches for the soccer World Cup, regional soccer tournaments and continental soccer championships in North and South America”, the statement said.
He was arrested in Zurich at the end of May two days before the start of FIFA’s annual conference.
Blazer, a former general secretary of CONCACAF and member of FIFA’s powerful Executive Committee, has been cooperating with US investigators since 2011, when he secretly cut a deal with and secretly pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
Without identifying Webb, the Swiss FOJ said that a transfer of the person would take place within 10 days. He was an ally of Federation Internationale de Football Association president Sepp Blatter, who has agreed to step down in the wake of the scandal.
The other six were Eugenio Figueredo, Eduardo Li, Jose Maria Marin, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas and Rafael Esquivel.
The United States government filed a formal request for extradition last week, with a 14-day period for those arrested to respond to that request.
