Updated 06:57 AM EDT, Thu, Mar 28, 2024

FIFA Probe: Guatemala Police Arrest Former Head of the Football Federation for Allegedly Accepting a 'Six-Digit' Bribe

  • +
  • -
  • Sign up to receive the lastest news from LATINONE

Guatemalan authorities arrest former football federation head Brayan Jimenez for allegedly collecting 'six-digit' bribes in the expanding FIFA corruption case probe.

The ex-president of the Guatemalan Football Federation (Fedefut) has formally been charged for accepting bribes linked to the organization, a couple of hours after Guatemalan police apprehended him, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

Jimenez, who is detained in the Torre Sol apartment in the capital of Guatemala, is faced with possible extradition to the U.S. for allegedly taking a 'six-digit' bribe together with former Fedefut Secretary-General Hector Trujillo in exchange for television airing rights for the 2018 World Cup qualifying matches.

According to BBC, Jimenez is one of 16 Latin American football officials included in the arrest warrant connected to the swelling corruption scandal involving the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

An official statement from his lawyers claims his innocence, says the outlet.

"We are not going to ask for a substitute measure. We will prove innocence in the United States courts," Jimenez's lawyer Francisco Garcia Gudiel declared.

Interestingly, the Daily Mail noticed a significant change in Jimenez's appearance during his arrest compared to when he faced the press at a news conference in December, where he appeared less rugged and stressed.

See video below.

As of BBC's latest count, the United States has already charged 40 individuals and entities linked to the FIFA corruption probe.

In response to those who question Washington's jurisdiction on the matter, U.S. Department of Justice explained that the country's request for extradition to the country since the crimes were "agreed and prepared in the United States."

About 14 FIFA officials have already been indicted during the early period of the case that sparked May last year and many others are still being apprehended after that.

What the probe initially suspected to be a short-time gig turned out to be an extensive corruption spree that also involved the Concacaf and the South American Football Confederation which covers games in the Carribean as well as the North and Central America.

Just recently, the international soccer association laid off secretary general Jerome Valcke who is now being linked to ex-Caribbean football chief Jack Warner, ABC reported on Wednesday.

"The FIFA emergency committee decided, on 9 January 2016, to dismiss Jerome Valcke from the position of FIFA secretary general with immediate effect," the official statement from the organization read.

According to the outlet, Warner is accused of accepting $10 million from South Africa which is now believed to be a bribe for to earn strong support for the 2010 World Cup.

© 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
  • Sign up to receive the lastest news from LATINONE
Close

Curiosidades

Real Time Analytics