By Mark Baber
June 19 – Hugo Jinkis and his son Mariano Jinkis, amongst the 14 current and former FIFA officials and corporate executives wanted by US prosecutors on charges of conspiracy to commit the offenses of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering, have surrendered to Argentine authorities, whilst pledging to fight extradition to the United States.
Hugo Jinkis’ lawyer Jorge Anzorreguy told reporters: “They have presented themselves to the authorities, in line with the law.”
The two men, who were considered fugitives subject to a red notice by Interpol, turned themselves in at a local court before being moved to a Buenos Aires jail as their petition to be kept under house arrest had earlier been rejected.
According to a US indictment, the two men, who controlled sports media and marketing agency Full Play, negotiated via another company called Datisa a deal whereby television rights for the Copa America were won in exchange for millions in bribes to be shared out among CONMEBOL officials and the heads of nations FAs.
Argentina has an extradition treaty in place with the USA, although legal proceedings can be long-winded with the two men likely to argue that under the terms of the treaty “extradition shall not be granted if the competent authority of the Requested State determines that the request was politically motivated.”
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