Reynaldo Vásquez, former president of the Salvadoran Football Federation (FESFUT), was presented upon his arrival in the United States before the Eastern District court of New York, after being extradited this morning from El Salvador.
Vásquez pleaded not guilty to the first crime charged by the US Attorney’s Office. The former director is accused of conspiring to commit organized crime actions that include acts of money laundering, bank fraud and bribery.
The former director could face up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty in the process against him. For now, the Salvadoran is the only one imprisoned in the United States, out of 15 former directors and former executives who are members of COMMEBOL, CONCACAF, FIFA and marketing companies accused in this process.
The case of the former president of FESFUT is related to the largest corruption, bribery, money laundering and match-fixing scandal of the beautiful game worldwide known as FIFA Gate, which involves the highest executives of football.
In 2017, the United States found the former president of COMMEBOL, Juan Ángel Napout, and José María Marín, former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) guilty. Other former senior executives and executives of FIFA in Latin America were also found guilty.
Vásquez, was arrested in December 2015. His extradition was approved in August 2017 in El Salvador and became effective this Friday. The US Attorney’s Office said that there is a risk of flight and because his lawyer did not present any proposal to request bail, the Salvadoran will remain imprisoned in New York.
The judge in the case Pamela Chen, ordered that a next hearing be held in 60 days and supported the observation of the Prosecutor’s Office so that the former Salvadoran director remains in prison. Meanwhile, prosecutor Kristin Mace said that the crime Vásquez is accused of is extremely serious.
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