US files request for Swiss to extradite seven Fifa officials

The US has submitted a formal request for Switzerland to extradite seven Fifa officials arrested in Zurich as part of a corruption probe that has rocked soccer’s world governing body.

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice said the requests were received from the US embassy in Bern. The requests met a 40-day deadline since the seven were detained early on May 27 in raids on a luxury hotel in Fifa’s home city.

All seven men detained in Zurich, including three current and former members of Fifa’s executive committee, have already objected to extradition. They face around 20 years in prison.

The widening American investigation already alleges bribery and racketeering worth over $150m (€135m) involving high-ranking Fifa officials over a 24-year span.

The US Department of Justice published an indictment of 14 soccer and marketing officials in May which alleged bribery linked to awarding broadcast rights for international tournaments in North and South America.

“These crimes are thought to have been agreed and prepared in the USA, and payments were allegedly routed through US banks,” the Swiss justice ministry said in a statement.

The seven will be heard by Zurich police and granted a 14-day period to respond to federal officials about the extradition request, the Swiss justice ministry said.

Swiss justice officials will then rule “within a few weeks” on whether to extradite them. That ruling can be appealed to Switzerland’s top criminal court and supreme court.

The seven men include Fifa vice president Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands and Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, who was arrested two days before his Fifa vice presidential term expired.