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APNewsBreak: Ex-Venezuela soccer boss accepts US extradition APNewsBreak: Ex-Venezuela soccer boss accepts US extradition
(35 minutes later)
ZURICH — The former president of the Venezuelan soccer federation has withdrawn his appeal before Switzerland’s highest court against extradition to the United States. ZURICH — The former president of Venezuela’s soccer federation has agreed to be extradited from Switzerland to the United States to face corruption charges, a Swiss justice official said Friday.
Rafael Esquivel was arrested in Zurich in May amid a U.S. corruption probe that has shaken football’s world governing body FIFA. Rafael Esquivel was arrested in Zurich in May as part of a U.S. investigation into alleged corruption among senior figures in world football and FIFA, the sport’s top governing body.
A spokesman for Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice says Esquivel informed Swiss authorities of his decision Friday. A spokesman for the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said it was informed by Esquivel on Friday that the Venezuelan had withdrawn his final appeal against extradition, which was pending before Switzerland’s highest court.
Folco Galli told The Associated Press that “Esquivel must be placed in the custody of a U.S. police escort and taken to the U.S.A. within 10 days.” “This enabled the Federal Office of Justice to approve his extradition to the U.S.A. the same day,” Folco Galli told The Associated Press.
Galli said the precise day and time of his extradition wouldn’t be announced. “Esquivel must be placed in the custody of a U.S. police escort and taken to the U.S.A. within 10 days,” he added. Galli said the precise day and time of his extradition wouldn’t be announced for reasons of privacy and security.
Esquivel will be the sixth ex-football official extradited to the United States. Esquivel appealed his extradition to the Federal Tribunal in Lausanne on Jan. 27. News of his decision to drop the appeal came as delegates from FIFA’s 209 members were voting in Zurich for a new president to replace Sepp Blatter, as well as a package of reforms designed to tackle corruption in the organization.
A seventh was sent to his native Uruguay, while two others are still appealing extradition in Swiss courts. U.S. authorities accuse Esquivel of receiving bribes worth millions of dollars in connection with the sale of marketing rights to the Copa America tournaments in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2023.
Esquivel was among nine former football officials arrested in two separate raids in Zurich last year. Five men have already been extradited to the United States. A seventh was sent to his native Uruguay, while two others — ex-FIFA staffer Julio Rocha of Nicaragua and Briton Costas Takkas, a former aide to the president of the CONCACAF federation — are still appealing extradition in Swiss courts.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.