FIFA vice president agrees extradition to US

GENEVA

Suspended FIFA Vice President Juan Angel Napout has agreed to be extradited to the U.S. from Switzerland, the Swiss Justice Ministry said Tuesday.

“Juan Angel Napout, president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and FIFA vice president, has agreed to be extradited to the U.S. The Federal Office of Justice was therefore able to approve his extradition immediately in a simplified procedure,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Paraguayan was among 16 FIFA officials, including fellow FIFA Vice President Alfredo Hawit, arrested in a second wave of arrests in Zurich on Dec. 3.

They are accused by U.S. authorities of accepting bribes totaling millions of dollars over the sale of marketing rights to football tournaments in Latin America.

“The person concerned must be collected by a U.S. police escort and taken to the U.S. within 10 days,” the ministry said.

Napout and Hawit were suspended for 90 days after their arrests - the latest to hit football’s world governing body since a first round of indictments and arrests in May, when police swooped on a luxury hotel in Zurich.

FIFA’s suspended President Sepp Blatter is also under investigation by Swiss authorities in a separate inquiry.