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Cayman Islands: FIFA’s [Jeff] Webb agrees to Extradition to face U.S. charges

628x-1by David Voreacos Tariq Panja Hugo Miller from Bloomberg

Jeffrey Webb, one of seven soccer officials arrested in Zurich in May, has agreed to be extradited and face corruption charges in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the matter.

Webb, a suspended vice president with the sport’s global governing body, is expected in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, within several days, according to the person, who requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public. He would be the first of those arrested in Switzerland to appear in U.S. court.

Webb, the former president of the Central and North American soccer federal known as Concacaf, was among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged in a racketeering and fraud indictment unsealed May 27. Webb’s attorney Edward O’Callaghan declined to comment by e-mail.
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice said the suspect will be handed to U.S. authorities within 10 days, adding “the person didn’t wish to be named at the moment,” according to a statement Friday.
U.S. prosecutors accused him of “accepting bribes totaling millions of dollars in connection with the sale of marketing rights to various sports marketing firms and keeping the money for himself,” the statement said.

“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,” according to the statement.

That description matches the accusations against Webb, 50, a Cayman Islands resident who also worked as a bank executive.

Nellin McIntosh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, declined to comment on the extradition proceedings.

IMAGE: Jeffrey Webb Photographer: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

For more on this story go to: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/fifa-s-webb-said-to-agree-to-extradition-to-face-u-s-charges

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