Napout is among a number of South American football official under suspicion
Keystone
The head of the South American Football Federation, and a vice-president at scandal plagued FIFA, Juan Angel Napout, has been extradited from Switzerland to the United States to face corruption charges.
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The Paraguayan was arrested at a Zurich hotel earlier this month, along with another top FIFA executive, when he was visiting the city to attend a meeting at the headquarters of football’s world governing body. After originally contesting his extradition, Napout then withdrew his objection last week.
The Swiss Federal Department of Justice also announced on Tuesday that another detained football official, Eduardo Li, had withdrawn his legal opposition to extradition to the US. The former head of Costa Rican football has been held in Zurich since May when he was arrested along with other officials in connection with the US corruption investigation.
FIFA has been rocked by two separate investigations this year. One was launched by the US Department of Justice that has seen numerous football officials and business people indicted or arrested. The Swiss Attorney General is also investigating the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments to Russia and Qatar.
In addition, Swiss prosecutors are investigating outgoing FIFA President Sepp Blatter and the head of European football Michel Platini for a suspicious transaction that took place between the two in 2011.
Although both football bosses deny wrongdoing, they have are currently serving suspensions from all football related activity while FIFA’s ethics committee decides if they have committed any offences.
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Napout agrees to be extradited to US
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Napout, who is from Paraguay and president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), agreed to be extradited at a police hearing on Tuesday. He was arrested along with Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, acting president of the North and Central American and Caribbean confederation (CONCACAF), in a pre-dawn police raid at the Baur au Lac…
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The United States Justice Department has announced charges against 16 additional world football officials after further arrests took place on Thursday in Zurich.
Those charged include five current and former members of FIFA’s executive committee, which met later in the day to announce reforms to the world governing body. In total, nearly a dozen people who have served on that committee have now been charged with corruption.
“The betrayal of trust that is set forth here is truly outrageous,” Lynch said of the charges against FIFA executives.
Among those charged on Thursday were Marco Polo del Nero, a Brazilian who served on the executive committee from 2012 until last week; Rafael Salguero, a Guatemalan who left the executive committee in May; former South American confederation secretary general Eduardo Deluca; former Peru soccer federation president Manuel Burga; and current Bolivian soccer president Carlos Chaves, already jailed in his own country.
Lynch also said the United States would seek to extradite Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay and Alfredo Hawit of Honduras following their arrests in Zurich Thursday morning at the Baur au Lac hotel.
She continued that eight defendants in the corruption investigation have now plead guilty to the charges.
Lynch also thanked Swiss authorities who she said had been “instrumental” in the ongoing investigation.
More to follow.
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Alfredo Hawit, president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and vice-president of FIFA; and Juan Angel Napout, president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and a FIFA official, both had extradition hearings on Thursday morning. The US will now have to submit formal requests within 40 days to…
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