One of seven detained football officials has agreed to extradition to the US on corruption charges, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said on Friday.
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Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice did not identify the person who agreed to return to the United States.
No details concerning when the defendant would be brought to the US were disclosed, according to the FOJ, because of security and privacy issues.
The men were arrested at a luxury hotel in Zurich on May 27 just days before FIFA’s congress. Those arrested include FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb; ex- CONMEBOL Vice President Eugenio Figueredo; Costa Rican soccer federation president Eduardo Li; ex- Brazilian federation chief Jose Maria Marin; Venezuela FA chief Rafael Esquivel; FIFA staffer Julio Rocha; and British businessman Costas Takkas.
The United States last week filed extradition requests for the seven officials.
According to the ministry, the official awaiting extradition stands accused by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York of “accepting bribes totalling millions of dollars in connection with the sale of marketing rights to various sports marketing firms and keeping the money for himself”.
The official, who initially had contested his extradition, agreed to be extradited on Thursday afternoon. The person concerned wished not to be named at the moment. Those rights were related to the broadcast of World Cup qualifiers, regional tournaments and continental championships in North and South America.
He was arrested in Zurich at the end of May two days before the start of FIFA’s annual conference.
The suspects were entitled to a hearing in Switzerland on the extradition request.
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“The FOJ was therefore able to approve his extradition immediately in a simplified procedure”.
