(ATR)Jeffrey Webb, one of14 FIFA officials and corporate executives indicted on charges of corruption, now faces house arrest as he awaits trial.
The FIFA vice president appearedbefore U.S. Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon at a federal court in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday.Webb entered a plea of not guilty to all 17 felony charges he faces, and was released on a $10 million dollar bail.
The New York Daily News reports that Webb must now wear an electric monitoring device and cannot leave his residence without approval from the FBI except for medical emergencies. He will have to employ a private security firm to monitor his movements for authorities and protect him from possible danger.
Webb also surrendered his passports on Saturday, two from the United Kingdom and one from the Cayman Islands.
Up until his indictment, Webb served as president of theConfederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).He is now barred from associating with any co-defendants or anyone involved in FIFA, CONCACAF or CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation.
In May, the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI launched an investigation into a $150 million bribery scandal that has since shredded FIFA's reputation and that of its outgoing president Sepp Blatter.
Webb was among the 14 FIFA officials and executives arrested in an early morning raid at a Swiss hotel on May 27.
Since then, the U.S. has worked with Switzerland to extradite seven of those arrested to U.S. soil to be tried. According to a report in the New York Times published last Thursday,Webb is the first official to sent to the U.S. from abroad.
U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Dearie, who is overseeing the case, did sign an order for "excludable delay," meaning the clock on Webb's right to a speedy trial will be waived for 30 days. According to New York Daily News, this is a tactic prosecutors often seek when they are cutting a deal.
Written byNicole Bennett
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