FIFA Corruption Scandal: Ex-VP Jeffrey Webb Pleads Not Guilty

Ex-FIFA Vice-President Jeffrey Webb has pleaded not guilty in the US in connection with a massive corruption scandal in the world soccer governing body.

Jeffrey Webb, from the Cayman Islands, was placed under house arrest on $10 million bail by a New York judge.

He is accused of accepting bribes worth millions of dollars in connection with the sale of marketing rights.

Jeffrey Webb was detained in Switzerland in May, along with six football officials, and was this week extradited to the US.

He was the only one not to contest his extradition from Switzerland and the first to appear in an American court.

Jeffrey Webb must remain at home within a 20-mile radius of the court, his movements will be monitored via an electronic tag and he has already relinquished his three passports, two of which are UK passports.

His lawyer has declined to comment.

Jeffrey Webb, 50, has been provisionally banned as FIFA vice-president. He is also the former president of the Central and North American football federation (CONCACAF).

The other six people arrested are fighting their extradition to the US, where the charges were laid.

The men were held at the request of the Department of Justice, which has indicted a total of 14 current and former FIFA officials and associates on charges of “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted” corruption following a major inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The investigation was initially sparked by the bidding process for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups, but was widened to look back at the dealings of world football’s governing body over the past 20 years.

The Department of Justice’s indictment says that the corruption was planned in the US, and that American banks were used to transfer money.