former president of the Salvadoran Football Federation, Reynaldo Vásquez, was extradited to E.United States to be tried this Friday in the FIFA corruption scandal, and he pleaded not guilty before a federal judge in FIFA. NY.
Vásquez has been charged in courtin the United States, in December 2015, for violating the Law on Organizations Affected by Extortion and Corruption (RICO), created to combat organized crime, as well as various banking and money laundering offenses.
However, it was extradited to the United States only to be tried for the first organized crime, prosecutor Kristin Mace said in Vasquez’s first hearing before Brooklyn judge Pamela Chen, responsible for the mega FIFA corruption scandal.
Into the Virtual audience, Chen asked Vasquez whether he pleaded guilty or not. “The defendant pleads not guilty,” said Gary Cutler, Vasquez’s lawyer.
Cutler said he would soon propose bail conditions so his client could wait for a free trial.
Except Prosecutor Mace asked the judgeThe defendant should be detained at least until then because he faces a “very serious” charge that “carries a sentence of up to 20 years” and because he has ties to a foreign country.
Judge Chen agreed with the request, estimating that the accused “Fr.represents a flight risk, “and set the next hearing for April 7.
The American justice system ensures that Vásquez received a bribe in exchange for the television rights and the marketing of the Salvadoran team’s matches and for facilitating the team’s participation in the friendly matches.
A little over a year ago, in October 2019, FIFA suspended Vásquez for life in all football-related activities.
In March In 2017, the leader was sentenced to eight years in prison in El Salvador for another offense: embezzlement of social security contributions of more than 200 employees, for a similar amount $ 400,000.
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The scandal known as “Fifagate” discovered by the United States in May 2015 uncovered a conspiracy of a millionaire bribe paid by sports marketing companies to football leaders in America in exchange for rights to television shows and promotion of tournaments, including Copa América and Copa Libertadores.
In the context of the case, which caused the head of the agency to fall, Joseph Blatter, eThe US government has accused about 45 people and several sports companies over 90 offenses and pay or accept more than $ 200 million andn bribe.
Nearly 45 defendants, five died. A total of 26 pleaded guilty, of which at least six were convicted.
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Three se They pleaded not guilty and went to a historic trial in New York at the end of 2017: former Brazilian football boss José Marin and former president of Paraguayan football and ConmeboJuan Angel NapouThey were not found guilty and imprisoned, while former Peruvian football chief Manuel Burga was acquitted.
A dozen are still in their home countries, where they have been prosecuted by the local judiciary or are at large while fighting extradition.