BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CN) — A British national entangled in the FIFA corruption scheme received a 15-month prison sentence from a New York federal judge, but nearly a year will be credited to time served in a Swiss prison.
Before his arrest by Swiss authorities in 2015, two days before soccer’s international governing body FIFA elected its next president, Costas Takkas was general secretary of the Cayman Islands soccer federation.
This outfit was a member of both FIFA and the Concacaf, short for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, and Takkas was the attache to one of the men at the head of these leagues, Jeffrey Webb.
A 60-year-old British national, Takkas pleaded guilty in My 2017 to having helped Webb, the former vice president of FIFA and president of Concacaf, trade media and marketing rights for millions in bribes.
Sports-marketing companies Traffic USA and Media World paid $3 million in bribes so that Webb would grant them the media and marketing rights to home World Cup qualifier matches played by Caribbean Football Union soccer teams during the 2018 and 2022 qualification cycle.
Takkas controlled the bank accounts Webb used to funnel money they paid him.
The 15-month sentence that U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen gave Takkas on Tuesday is far below the 20-year max called for in the charges.
As part of his sentence, Takkas is also required to pay $3 million in restitution to the Caribbean Football Union, known as CFU.
Webb pleaded guilty as well back in 2015 but is still awaiting sentencing.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CN) — A British national entangled in the FIFA corruption scheme received a 15-month prison sentence from a New York federal judge, but nearly a year will be credited to time served in a Swiss prison.
Before his arrest by Swiss authorities in 2015, two days before soccer’s international governing body FIFA elected its next president, Costas Takkas was general secretary of the Cayman Islands soccer federation.
This outfit was a member of both FIFA and the Concacaf, short for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, and Takkas was the attache to one of the men at the head of these leagues, Jeffrey Webb.
A 60-year-old British national, Takkas pleaded guilty in My 2017 to having helped Webb, the former vice president of FIFA and president of Concacaf, trade media and marketing rights for millions in bribes.
Sports-marketing companies Traffic USA and Media World paid $3 million in bribes so that Webb would grant them the media and marketing rights to home World Cup qualifier matches played by Caribbean Football Union soccer teams during the 2018 and 2022 qualification cycle.
Takkas controlled the bank accounts Webb used to funnel money they paid him.
The 15-month sentence that U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen gave Takkas on Tuesday is far below the 20-year max called for in the charges.
As part of his sentence, Takkas is also required to pay $3 million in restitution to the Caribbean Football Union, known as CFU.
Webb pleaded guilty as well back in 2015 but is still awaiting sentencing.
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