Thursday 28 May 2015 09:25, UK
Jack Warner has been arrested and is set to be released on bail in his native Trinidad and Tobago as part of the ongoing FIFA investigation.
Former FIFA vice-president Warner was indicted in a US Department of Justice investigation which saw dawn raids carried out by Swiss police in Zurich as seven serving FIFA officials were apprehended on corruption charges.
The indictment alleges he solicited $10m in bribes from the South African government to host the 2010 World Cup.
An arrest warrant was issued for the former CONCACAF president in his home country and he subsequently handed himself into police.
He appeared in court where a judge read 12 charges against him before granting him $2.5m bail. He did not enter a plea, had to surrender his passport and must report to the police twice a week. He is scheduled to appear in court again on July 12.
Warner appeared in court, where a judge read 12 charges against him and then granted him $2.5m bail on certain conditions, including that he surrender his passport and report to police twice a week. Warner did not enter a plea and is scheduled to appear in court again July 12.
Police said there was a delay in processing Warner's bail and he was expected to spend one night in jail.
According to the US attorney general's full indictment against FIFA officials, South Africa paid £6.5m ($10m) in bribes to secure the 2010 World Cup - and the cash was transferred via a FIFA account.
The money was allegedly paid to Warner and another former FIFA member, Chuck Blazer. A separate cash payment in $10,000 stacks was collected from a hotel room in Paris from a high-ranking South African bid committee official.
The indictment claims Warner was offered $1m by South Africa's rival bid, Morocco, but Blazer "learned from Jack Warner that high-ranking officials of FIFA, the South African government, and the South African bid committee, were prepared to arrange for the government of South Africa to pay $10m to 'support the African diaspora'.
Blazer "understood the offer to be in exchange for World Cup votes" but later "learned that the South Africans were unable to arrange for the payment to be made directly from government funds". Blazer was to personally benefit to the tune of $1m.
The indictment adds: "Arrangements were thereafter made with FIFA officials to instead have the 10million dollars sent from FIFA - using funds that would otherwise have gone from FIFA to South Africa to support the World Cup - to CFU [Caribbean Football Union].
"In fact, on January 2, 2008, January 31, 2008 and March 7, 2008, a high-ranking FIFA official caused payments – totalling 10million - to be wired from a FIFA account in Switzerland to a Bank of America correspondent account in New York... controlled by Jack Warner."
The US Department of Justice investigation has indicted 18 people alleging bribery totalling more than $150m with charges connected to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
Vice-presidents Jeffrey Webb - the current CONCACAF president - and Eugenio Figueredo from Uruguay were arrested, along with Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas - who is reportedly a UK citizen - Rafael Esquivel and Jose Maria Marin.
Warner, who has denied any wrongdoing, and Nicolas Leoz, another former FIFA official, had also been indicted. All nine are or were representatives from South America, North America, Central America or the Caribbean. Five corporate executives have also been indicted.
The indictment accused officials of using a variety of schemes to take kickbacks and bribes from sports marketing firms connected to major tournaments, and also alleged corruption in the selection of the 2010 World Cup host, the 2011 FIFA presidential election.
In an earlier statement Warner said: "I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter. I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges. I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.
"The actions of FIFA no longer concern me. I cannot help but note, however, that these cross-border coordinated actions come at a time when FIFA is assembled for elections to select a president who is universally disliked by the international community.
"At times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically take actions to affect world football. World football is an enormous international business.
"That is no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people of Trinidad and Tobago."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter also released a statement in which he said he welcomed the investigations.
