MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trinidad approves extradition proceedings for Concacaf ex chief, Jack Warner

Untied States wants to try Mr. Warner, 72, a Trinidadian national, on corruption charges. He is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes.

The extradition proceedings against Jack Warner, a former vice-president of football's world governing body FIFA, are to go ahead after being approved by Trinidad's attorney general. Untied States wants to try Mr. Warner, 72, a Trinidadian national, on corruption charges. He is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes.

 He and 13 other current or former FIFA officials were indicted in May. He denies the charges and is currently fighting the extradition attempt.

Last week, Switzerland approved the extradition of ex-FIFA Vice-President Eugenio Figueredo to the US. Figueredo, from Uruguay, was arrested in May while in Switzerland for a FIFA congress. So far, only one arrested official - former FIFA Vice-President Jeffrey Webb, from the Cayman Islands - has agreed to be extradited.

After being extradited from Switzerland to the US, Mr. Webb pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes worth millions of dollars in connection with the sale of marketing rights. He was placed under house arrest on $10m bail by a New York judge.

As the head of Caribbean and North and Central American football (Concacaf), Mr. Warner was one the most powerful men in world football. His support was seen as essential for any World Cup host bid. However, he has been dogged by allegations of corruption.

The US alleges that Mr. Warner has been involved in corrupt practices for more than two decades. Mr. Warner's case has been adjourned until Friday due to a legal dispute over a technicality. In June 2015, a BBC investigation found evidence of bribes paid to Mr. Warner.

Jack Warner is accused of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, bribery; from the early 1990s, he allegedly “began to leverage his influence and exploit his official positions for personal gain”; allegedly accepted a $10m bribe from South African officials in return for voting to award them the 2010 World Cup; allegedly bribed officials with envelopes each containing $40,000 in cash; when one demurred, he allegedly said: “There are some people here who think they are more pious than thou. If you're pious, open a church, friends. Our business is our business”