Former President of Brazilian Football Confederation Waives Extradition and Pleads Not Guilty in U.S. FIFA Investigation

Brazil FIFA Switzerland

On October 28, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice announced that Jose Maria Marin, former President of the Brazilian Football Confederation, had agreed to be extradited from Switzerland to the United States as part of the U.S. government’s investigation of alleged money laundering and bribery at FIFA.  Marin is accused of having taken bribes worth millions of dollars from sports marketing companies in connection with the sale of marketing rights for Copa America and Copa do Brasil tournaments, and to have shared these bribes with other soccer officials.  Marin previously had opposed extradition. On November 3, Marin appeared before Judge Raymond Dearie of the United States District Court in of the Eastern District of New York.  Marin pleaded not guilty to an array of federal charges including conspiracy to commit racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering.  He was released on a $15 million personal recognizance bond with home detention and electronic monitoring. Marin is the second FIFA official to waive extradition.  As noted in a previous post, Jeffrey Webb, a former vice president of FIFA, agreed to be extradited to the United States in July.   Several other defendants are currently fighting extradition efforts.