May 9 – More than six months after a judge in Paraguay authorised the extradition to the United States of former Conmebol boss Nicolás Leoz, alleged to have been one of the masterminds in the FIFAGate corruption scandal but who has so far managed to escape the clutches of US prosecutors, now appears to be closer than ever to finally being brought to justice.
The 89-year-old, who ran Conmebol for 27 years, was indicted by US justice authorities in May 2015 but has always resisted extradition. The US Justice Department suspects Leoz, for years seemingly untouchable, of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from marketing companies in exchange for TV and marketing rights but his legal team have so far frustrated all attempts to put him on trial.
Now, however, the Paraguayan Court of Appeals has approved by two to one an extradition order signed last November though it could be some time before he is handed over since his lawyers say this latest order will be appealed at the country’s Supreme Court.
Leoz has been under house arrest in the Paraguayan capital, Asunción, since June 2015 after quitting Conmebol and FIFA’s executive committee citing health problems. During the trials of key officials in world football’s bribery and money-laundering scandal in New York, he was repeatedly named as being a key figure in the alleged bribery and kick-back schemes.
One prosecution witness Alejandro Burzaco, former chief executive of sports-marketing giants Torneos y Competencias, claimed Leoz had pocketed a $5 million payment from FIFA that was meant for Conmebol from revenues generated by the Club World Cup.
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