Former soccer federation president in Guatemala entered not guilty plea on Wednesday in bribery scheme charges over the FIFA corruption case. The former official of the governing body of association has involved in alleging wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering and obstruction of justice over the course of about twenty-five years.
Brayan Jimenez pleaded not guilty through his representing lawyer during a trial in a Brooklyn court, after he was extradited from Guatemala, Reuters reported. The charges include racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud charges and was arrested on the said country in January.
Jimenez is on $1.5 million bail, set by the U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes. He is also ordered to be confined in his friend's New Jersey home, according to Yahoo News. His lawyer said Jimenez will engage in plea talks and is looking forward to face the charges.
The 61 year old is among the 39 officials and marketing executives accused by US prosecutors of bribery and kickback schemes relating to media and marketing rights, among other schemes, according to France 24. Jimenez is a former member of FIFA's committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility.
U.S. prosecutors have said since in 2010, Jimenez solicited and accepted bribe payments from Media World, an affiliate of Spanish media company Imagina Group, in exchange for media and marketing rights for World Cup qualifier matches. The indictment also stated, one payment was a "six-figure bribe" to be split among Jimenez and two other Guatemalans for media and marketing rights for 2018 World Cup qualifier matches.
Substantial amounts of money were allegedly channeled into the private accounts of the officials involved. Currently, investigations are still ongoing and the case has yet to come to trial. But if these allegations are proven, the FIFA scandal will go down in history as one of the largest and most damaging corruption cases ever.
