January 13 – Police in Guatemala have arrested a former head of the country’s FA who has been on the run since being caught up in the US probe into football corruption.
Bryan Jimenez was detained in an apartment building in an affluent neighbourhood of Guatemala City and was due to appear in court to be formally charged.
Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office previously said it received an order from the Foreign Ministry to proceed with the extradition of Jimenez to the United States once apprehended.
He has been accused of taking bribes along with Hector Trujillo, former secretary general of the Guatemalan FA, who was arrested last month in the United States.
Jimenez’s attorney Francisco Garcia told reporters extradition was not going to be resisted.
“We are not going to ask for a substitute measure,” he said. “We will prove innocence in the United States courts.”
Jimenez was head of the Guatemalan Football Federation (Fedefut) from 2010 until last year. US prosecutors say he and Trujillo took a “six-digit bribe” to sell the television rights to qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.
The US justice Department says the alleged offences were “agreed and prepared in the United States” and payments were also processed via American banks.
The last time Jimenez was seen by local media in December, he had black hair and a shaven face. On Tuesday, after being on the run since a warrant was issued for his arrest, he appeared to have disguised himself with white hair, moustache and a beard.
The US has so far charged over 40 individuals and entities as part of its investigation which has mainly focussed on the activities of those connected with two confederations, Conmebol and CONCACAF.
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