Homes, Cars, And Jewels: Raising FIFA Ex-VP Jeffrey Webb's Mega-Bond
Jeffrey Webb is the first former official from soccer's governing body to appear in a New York federal court in connection with the sweeping investigation by US prosecutors
Homes, cars, 11 luxe timepieces and his wife's jewels: it took a top-dollar personal property roundup to raise the USD 10 million bond US authorities sought for FIFA ex-vice president Jeffrey Webb.
Documents released Sunday showed that Webb used items, such as a 2014 Range Rover apparently owned by his doctor wife Kendra Gamble-Webb, to make bond after he pleaded not guilty in US court a day before in connection with a massive international corruption scandal. (Blatter Showered With Fake Currency Notes)
He is the first former official from soccer's governing body to appear in a New York federal court in connection with the sweeping investigation by US prosecutors that has rocked the world's top sport.
In order to meet the hefty bond amount, he also sent the FBI 11 luxury watches, including four Rolex, a Cartier, a Breitling, a Hublot and two Luminor. His wife bade farewell to a diamond bracelet, pearl necklace and other pricey jewels. (Blatter Not Amused by Bank Note Prankster)
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The 50-year-old dual British and Cayman Islands citizen has surrendered his passports to the FBI and must remain within a 20-mile radius of the courthouse in Brooklyn. He is the only one of seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich not to contest extradition and was flown earlier this week to the United States, where he lives with his wife and their young son. (Blatter is Leaving. FIFA's Sexist Policies Should go With Him)
In all, 14 defendants stand accused of soliciting and receiving more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks across 24 years. US Attorney General Loretta Lynch unveiled the 47-count indictment in May, charging soccer officials and marketing executives with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
Besides serving as FIFA vice president, Webb was president of the Cayman Islands Football Association, as well as CONCACAF, which oversees the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean. He is accused of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud charges.
Prosecutors allege that Webb was bribed more than USD 7 million by sports marketing outfit Traffic Sports USA and its then-president Aaron Davidson in exchange for contracts granting exclusive rights to soccer tournaments.