FIFA corruption: Trinidad delays extradition hearing on Jack Warner

Port-of Spain (Trinidad): Authorities in Trinidad postponed a hearing on Friday to determine whether the US will have to restart extradition proceedings against former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner in an international soccer corruption case. Deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington said the hearing will be held December 2. The ruling comes after Warner’s attorneys requested more time so they could travel to the US and discuss extradition terms. [caption id=“attachment_2446388” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Jack Warner. AP[/caption] Warner is fighting extradition on the US charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering in the FIFA corruption case. He has to report twice weekly to a police station and his passport has been seized. US prosecutors allege South Africa funneled USD 10 million in 2008 to Warner and two other FIFA executives in exchange for their support in its successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup. Friday’s ruling in Trinidad comes the same day that prosecutors in Switzerland opened criminal proceedings against FIFA President Sepp Blatter for possible criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of FIFA money. Warner told local station CCN TV6 that he would not comment on any of the cases. “I’m not answering anything about Sepp Blatter or Jack Warner or Sepp Mother or Sepp Sister,” he said. “I have nothing to say. Let the feeding frenzy continue.” Warner left FIFA in 2011 after being implicated in an earlier bribery scandal. He has denied wrongdoing. Some Trinidad legal experts have warned that the extradition request against Warner could take three to five years to resolve. Warner was arrested in May and lost a re-election bid earlier this month for a Parliament seat during general elections. AP