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El Salvador extradites ex-soccer chief to U.S. on corruption charges – Metro US

El Salvador extradites ex-soccer chief to U.S. on corruption charges

Former president of El Salvador’s soccer federation Reynaldo Vazquez is
Former president of El Salvador’s soccer federation Reynaldo Vazquez is presented to the media after his arrest in San Salvador, El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – El Salvador on Friday extradited the former president of the Salvadoran Football Federation (FESFUT), Reynaldo Vasquez, to the United States to face charges of money laundering and fraud, prosecutors in the Central American country said.

Police arrested Vasquez in December 2015 after U.S. authorities accused him of involvement in a multimillion dollar corruption scheme that shook the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf).

“Today concludes the extradition process of Reynaldo Vasquez, former FESFUT president,” the Salvadoran attorney general’s office said on Twitter, publishing photographs of Vasquez awaiting extradition at an airport.

Vasquez, who chaired FESFUT between 2009 and 2010, was on a list of 16 people accused of bribery-related offenses linked to agreements over broadcasting rights for World Cup qualifying matches at the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.

The former FESFUT boss was serving an eight year sentence in El Salvador for fraud linked to allegations of embezzlement.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; editing by Dave Graham and Grant McCool)