Switzerland extradites first of 7 FIFA suspects to US

One of the seven FIFA officials held in Switzerland over corruption allegations has been extradicted to the United States, the Swiss justice ministry said in a statement Thursday.

"The first of the seven FIFA officials being held in custody in Switzerland was extradited to the USA on 15 July," the statement said.

"He was handed over to a three-man US police escort in Zurich who accompanied him on the flight to New York."

A justice ministry spokesman separately told AFP in an email that the extradicted official could not yet be named.

Last week, one of the seven FIFA officials detained in Switzerland as part of a probe into massive graft at football's governing body agreed to be sent to the US, with Swiss authorities saying his extradition was likely to be approved quickly.

That official was among those arrested in a dawn raid on a Zurich hotel on May 27, accused of involvement in more than $150 million of bribes given for marketing deals for football tournaments in North and South America.

The six remaining FIFA officials wanted by the US Justice Department -- all from South America or the CONCACAF zone of North and Central America and the Caribbean -- have not yet agreed to be extradicted.
Source: AFP