FIFA gate: The former Argentine leader will have to return nearly two million dollars to CONMEBOL

After the successful completion of the 2021 Copa America, which saw Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrate the title after 28 years of waiting after defeating local Brazil in the final, CONMEBOL has received good news.

Through a statement, the South American Football Confederation stated that A Swiss court has ordered the return of $1,749,625 that was in the personal account of former Argentine leader Eduardo DeLuca.Who was the Secretary General of the Foundation.

The product of this money is the entity that regulates football in the region Already recovered more than 55 million dollars, which has been illegally transferred. This is taking place within the framework of the strategy of clear calculations (clear rules today) that President Alejandro Dominguez has promoted since he took office in 2016.

The FIFA portal exploded on May 27, 2015 in Zurich, Switzerland. On that day, seven FIFA officials were arrested at the Hotel Baur au Lac, in the run-up to the 65th FIFA Congress, the agenda of which included the election of the President between Joseph Blatter and Prince Ali bin Hussein. The charges brought against them include bribery, fraud and money laundering.

Eduardo DeLuca, who knew how to be the right-hand man of the late AFC president Julio Grondona, was also indicted in the FIFA corruption scandal. He was charged with “organized crime, electronic fraud and money laundering”.

It is worth remembering that in May this year Swiss bank Julius Baer (BJB) has admitted paying late AFC President and FIFA Vice President Julio Grondona, $30 million in bribes from the FIFA portal.

This entity has reached an agreement with a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, in which it acknowledges that it has He paid a total of $36 million in bribes Which started from CEOs of media companies to the major leaders of South American football until 2015 to gain advantages in acquiring broadcasting rights for football competitions in South America.

CONMEBOL official statement:

The Swiss Ministry of Justice agreed with CONMEBOL and ordered the return of $1,749,625 from the personal account of Eduardo DeLuca, the former Secretary General of the Foundation. This is money owned by the South American Football Confederation and has been illegally transferred. This sum is in addition to more than $55,000,000 that CONMEBOL recovered last year from the personal accounts of former leaders of the organization.

Within the clear accounts strategy – the clear rules today – the recovery of irregularly allocated funds has been a sustained measure since 2016, when Alejandro Dominguez took over the CONMEBOL presidency. The starting point for this process that is bearing fruit today is the conduct of forensic audits, the implementation of an effective legal strategy, and full cooperation with the Swiss and US courts.

At the recent CONMEBOL conference, President Dominguez requested and obtained an extension of the mandate which stipulates all necessary actions to be taken to recover and obtain funds stolen from South American football. The current decision of the Swiss justice is the product of this ongoing effort.

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