Football
ESPN staff 9y

Jack Warner, ex-FIFA vice president, surrenders to police in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner was expected to spend Wednesday night in jail after surrendering when police issued an arrest warrant at the request of U.S. authorities, who filed corruption charges against him and 13 others tied to international football.

Warner appeared in court, where a judge read 12 charges against him and then granted him $2.5 million bail on certain conditions, including that he surrender his passport and report to police twice a week. Warner did not enter a plea and is scheduled to appear in court again July 12.

Police said there was a delay in processing Warner's bail and he was expected to spend one night in jail.

The attorney general's office in Trinidad and Tobago said it had been working with the U.S. Justice Department for about a year regarding the investigation of Warner, who was forced out of FIFA in 2011 over a bribery scandal.

Warner, who is an opposition member of Parliament in the twin-island nation, can be extradited to the U.S. under a bilateral treaty following a hearing. He also previously served as Trinidad's national security minister.

"Mr. Warner is entitled to a fair extradition process and both the requesting and requested States intend to abide by the provisions of the treaty to ensure that Mr. Warner's rights are respected," the attorney general said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Warner denied any wrongdoing, as he has previously when confronted with allegations that he enriched himself while an official with the global football governing body and as a president of CONCACAF, the federation's North American regional organisation.

Warner left football in 2011 to avoid FIFA sanctions during the organisation's presidential election. He said he was not questioned in the investigation that led to the indictment, as well as to the guilty pleas by two of his sons on related charges.

Among those indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice included CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands and former CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo, of Uruguay. The others are Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, Julio Rocha of Nicaragua, Costas Takkas of Britain, Rafael Esquivel of Venezuela and Jose Maria Marin of Brazil.

Takkas is the lone official outside of the Western hemisphere to be arrested. All seven are connected with the regional confederations of North and South America and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

FIFA also banned 11 people from football-related activities, including Webb, Li, Rocha, Takkas, Warner, Figueredo, Esquivel, Marin, former CONMEBOL chief Nicolas Leoz, former CONCACAF president Chuck Blazer and Daryll Warner, Jack Warner's son.

CONCACAF and CONMEBOL said via statements that they will fully cooperate with the investigation.

The Costa Rica attorney general's office says it has opened an investigation into Li.

CONCACAF added that the proceedings will not affect Gold Cup plans for July.

"CONCACAF continues to operate in the ordinary course of business, hosting all of its upcoming tournaments in a successful and timely manner, including the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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