FIFA suspect pleads not guilty to graft
Print Edition
Former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb has pleaded not guilty in a US court in connection with a massive international corruption scandal, with his release set at a US$10 million bond.
He is the first former official from soccer’s governing body to appear in a New York federal court in connection with the sweeping investigation by US prosecutors that has rocked the sporting world.
The 50-year-old dual British and Cayman Islands citizen has surrendered his passports to the FBI and must remain within a 32-kilometer radius of the courthouse in Brooklyn.
He is the only one of seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich not to contest extradition and was flown earlier this week to the United States, where he lives with his wife and their young son.
His wife, a US citizen, her pensioner and his in-laws on Saturday signed his bond papers in court. Six other members of Webb’s family will also sign his bond application.
In all, 14 defendants stand accused of soliciting and receiving more than US$150 million in bribes and kickbacks across 24 years.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch unveiled the 47-count indictment in May, charging soccer officials and marketing executives with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
Webb was also president of the Cayman Islands Football Association, as well as CONCACAF, which oversees the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
He is accused of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud charges.
Prosecutors allege that Webb was bribed more than US$7 million by sports marketing outfit Traffic Sports USA and its then-president Aaron Davidson in exchange for contracts granting exclusive rights to soccer tournaments.
Davidson is out on bail and discussing a plea deal.
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