The United
States has formally asked Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA officials
arrested in May. The men are accused of money laundering and criminal
mismanagement at football’s world governing body.
Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2015
Switzerland's
Federal Office of Justice announced Thursday that the requests were received
July 1 from the US embassy in Bern.
The request
comes within the 40-day deadline since the group was detained and within the
extradition request period outlined in the two countries' bilateral agreement.
The seven
FIFA officials, who were arrested in May during a dawn raid on a luxury Zurich
hotel, have contested the extradition demand which could see them face 20 years
in prison if convicted.
The
extradition requests are based on a US investigation into money laundering and
criminal mismanagement worth more than $100 billion (90.5 billion euros).
The Swiss
Justice Ministry said Thursday in a statement that "these crimes are
thought to have been agreed and prepared in the USA, and payments were
allegedly routed through US banks."
Zurich
canton police are to give the seven officials a hearing on the extradition
requests, the Justice office added in a statement. The officials or their
lawyers will then have 14 days to respond to the request. Extradition
procedures typically last several months.
The seven,
which include former FIFA Vice-President Eugenio Figuerdo of Uraguay, Jeffrey
Webb of the Cayman Island, Costa Rican soccer federation president Jose Maria
Marin, Venezuelan football association chief Rafael Esquivel, FIFA staffer
Julio Rocha and Costas Takkas from the UK and a development officer from
Nicaragua.
The Swiss
Federal Office of Justice gave a statement following the officials’ arrests in
May which said US authorities believe the crimes were agreed upon and prepared
on US soil, and that payments were made using American banks.
"The
bribery suspects - representatives of sports media and sports promotion firms -
are alleged to have been involved in schemes to make payments to the football
functionaries (FIFA delegates) and other functionaries of FIFA
sub-organizations - totaling more than $100 million [90.5 million euros],"
the May statement read. "In return, it is believed that they received
media, marketing, and sponsorship rights in connection with soccer tournaments
in Latin America."
FIFA
President Sepp Blatter told Thursday's edition of German weekly Bunte, that he
is not corrupt and he has a "clear conscience" despite the corrpution
probe into the organization.
US law
officials have said Blatter is a target of their investigation into
racketeering linked to widespread bribery, voting for international tournaments
and broadcast rights.
Four days
after being re-elected to the top position for a fifth term, Blatter resigned
his position.
The date
for a new presidential election will be decided at an emergency meeting of
FIFA's executive committee on July 20 in Zurich.
jlw/kms (Reuters, AP, AFP)
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