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Former FIFA Vice President Warner granted bail in corruption scandal case

Warner is among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than $150 million in bribes. FIFA is the global body governing soccer.

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Jack Warner leaves the Trinidad and Tobago prison (Reuters)
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Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, who has been accused of soliciting bribes as part of a vast corruption case against senior soccer officials, left jail in Trinidad and Tobago via ambulance on Thursday after he was granted bail, according to local media.

Warner is among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than $150 million in bribes. FIFA is the global body governing soccer. Once one of the most powerful men in FIFA, Warner surrendered to authorities on Wednesday after US officials sought his extradition.

Prosecutors say Warner solicited bribes worth $10 million from the South African government to host the 2010 World Cup and diverted bribes for personal use. Warner issued a statement protesting his innocence on Wednesday as FIFA reeled from police raids in Switzerland and the United States, as well as a second investigation opened by the Swiss authorities into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Warner, who faces 12 charges included racketeering and bribery, said on Wednesday he was innocent and noted he had left soccer activities four years ago. "Over the past several years I have recommitted my life to the work of improving the lot of every citizen of every creed and race in this nation," he said in a statement. 

 

Australian police to investigate Warner's link with Football Federation

Australian police may investigate a payment of $500,000 by Football Federation Australia to Jack Warner after the former soccer powerbroker was arrested in a sweeping corruption probe launched by US authorities this week. Australia's national soccer governing body claimed the payment was made as part of "mandatory" FIFA bidding criteria during the country's failed bid for the 2022 World Cup but was misappropriated by Warner.

Bonita Mersiades, a former senior member of Australia's bid team, and local lawmaker Nick Xenophon had written to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) asking them to investigate the payment, the AFP said. "The AFP can confirm it has been contacted ... and asked to provide advice in relation to this matter," the police force said in a short statement on Friday.

"The AFP will assess the letters and provide advice in due course.

Football Federation Australia, whose senior management are in Zurich for the FIFA congress, was unavailable to provide comment. The FFA has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in its World Cup bid and said the 2010 payment was intended to fund a feasibility study for a 'centre of excellence' project in the Caribbean.

A 2013 probe by CONCACAF said the payment was misappropriated by Warner, a former president the regional soccer governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Warner resigned from his soccer roles in 2011 amid corruption allegations but was among more than a dozen soccer, media and promotions officials indicted by US authorities this week.

Also Read: Sepp Blatter bemoans 'shame and humiliation' of FIFA scandal, but refuses to resign

The US Justice Department has alleged he solicited $10 million in bribes from the South African government to host the 2010 World Cup. Warner denied the allegations and was released on bail after a court appearance in Port of Spain. The FFA said last year that it had cooperated with Michael Garcia, FIFA's appointed investigator into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, regarding the payment and reported it to the Australian government.

Australia's sports ministry referred queries about the bid to the FFA. Mersiades left Australia's bid team a year before the World Cup vote, later citing personal differences and discomfort with the team's strategy of using highly-paid consultants to influence FIFA members.

She was one of two prominent whistleblowers who cooperated with Garcia, but her evidence was largely discredited in a summary of his investigation released by FIFA's ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert last year. Senator Xenophon, a long-time critic of FIFA and Australia's failed bid, urged the federal government to denounce FIFA president Sepp Blatter and request a fresh vote for the 2022 World Cup.

Eckert's summary found some wrongdoing committed by teams bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups but not enough to re-open the bidding process.Garcia subsequently quit his role as investigator, saying his report had been misrepresented. 

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