S. American confederation loses immunity in FIFA fallout

Yahoo – AFP, 11 June 2015

Paraguay's Congress voted to lift the immunity of South American football
confederation CONMEBOL's headquarters after several top executives were
indicted in the US probe into alleged massive corruption at FIFA
(AFP Photo/Norberto Duarte)

Asuncion (AFP) - Paraguay's Congress voted Thursday to lift the immunity of South American football confederation CONMEBOL's headquarters after several top executives were indicted in the US probe into alleged massive corruption at FIFA.

Under a special law, the confederation's building on the outskirts of Asuncion had enjoyed the same immunity as foreign diplomatic missions since it opened in 1997.

But the Senate voted against continuing to treat the scandal-stained football organization like a foreign government, adopting a measure already passed by the Chamber of Deputies to repeal the immunity law, just the latest fallout from the wide-ranging FIFA scandal.

"It's impossible to continue shielding corruption, protecting large-scale economic crimes and criminal corporations," said lawmaker Hugo Rubin.

The president of CONMEBOL, Paraguayan national Juan Angel Napout, had said the federation would not fight moves to lift its immunity and would cooperate with investigators.

Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga said the vote brought Paraguay in line with international law, which affords immunity only to inter-governmental missions.

"CONMEBOL is not an inter-governmental entity. I understand the president of CONMEBOL has already announced that they are in agreement with this," he said.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes, who backed the legislation, is expected to sign it into law in the coming days.

Two former CONMEBOL presidents are among 14 football officials and marketing executives indicted by the United States on charges of taking and receiving more than $150 million in bribes across 24 years of corrupt activities that reached into the heart of world football's governing body.

Former CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay was among the seven people arrested last month in a raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich, as were executive committee members Rafael Esquivel of Venezuela and Jose Maria Marin of Brazil.

Another former CONMEBOL president, Nicolas Leoz, was arrested in his native Paraguay and is currently under house arrest awaiting a decision on extraditing him to the United States.

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