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FIFA President Sepp
Blatter speaks during a news conference at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich,
Switzerland, Tuesday, June 2, 2015. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)
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One week after an American investigation of soccer corruption
erupted at FIFA, seven men remain detained in Zurich prison cells.
AP reports the seven
officials — including two FIFA vice presidents, one member-elect of the FIFA
executive committee and one FIFA staffer — were arrested in early morning hotel
raids.
All face extradition to
the United States in a process which could last months. Only then could they be
questioned about involvement in alleged racketeering, money-laundering and wire
fraud in a US$150 million bribe scheme spanning more than two decades.
Here are some things to
know about the ongoing legal process in Switzerland:
FIRST APPEALS
The seven in Zurich have
until next Monday to appeal being detained by Swiss authorities.
Their best chance of
being released on bail lies with their lawyers either finding flaws in how
American and Swiss agencies processed and handled the arrests, or a lenient
judge.
"Release on bail is
possible, but it's very, very rare," said Folco Galli, spokesman for the
Swiss Federal Office of Justice in Bern.
40 DAYS
The next deadline in the
Swiss extradition process is July 3.
The U.S. must submit its
formal extradition request by then and may be in no hurry to do so.
All seven detainees could
be feeling a long way from their home countries in South and Central America
and residences in the U.S.
"We will publish a
press release as soon as these requests have been submitted," Galli said
Wednesday.
EXTRADITION PROCESS
The Swiss justice office
will examine the merits of each request and likely issue an extradition order
within a month or two.
One condition is that the
allegations each faces in the U.S. would also be punishable in Switzerland.
The Swiss authorities
will not have an opinion on the likely guilt or innocence of each detainee.
That is for the American courts to decide, Galli said.
An order granted can be
appealed to the Swiss Criminal Court in Bellinzona, in the Italian-border
canton (state) of Ticino. A further appeal route goes to the Swiss Federal
Tribunal in Lausanne.
That whole process could
last at least six months, depending on how much resistance is put up by the
seven.
SEPP BLATTER'S POSITION
The outgoing FIFA
president will not be detained in his home country on behalf of American
prosecutors. As a Swiss national, Blatter cannot be extradited by Switzerland.
Still, the 79-year-old
Blatter becomes more exposed if traveling abroad where a warrant for his arrest
and extradition could be sought by the U.S.
FIFA tournaments are
being played this month in New Zealand and Canada.
Under normal
circumstances, FIFA protocol would require Blatter to attend the Under-20 World
Cup final in Auckland on June 20 and the Women's World Cup final on July 5 in
Vancouver.
FIFA said Wednesday that
Blatter does not have any confirmed travel plans in the next two weeks.
WORLD CUP CASE
In a separate case, Swiss
federal authorities are looking at possible criminal mismanagement and
money-laundering in FIFA's decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to
Russia and Qatar.
Swiss police last week
questioned some of the 10 non-Swiss residents who voted in the process and
still held their FIFA seats.
On Wednesday, the Swiss
attorney general's office said it could not confirm which of the 10 were spoken
to as "persons providing information."
One voter who claims not
to have been spoken to is FIFA senior vice president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon.
Hayatou, the Confederation of African Football president, told media in his
home country this week that no authorities approached him in Switzerland.
After Blatter announced
his resignation on Tuesday, the Swiss agency confirmed that he was not involved
in its case
"His announced
resignation will have no influence on the ongoing criminal proceedings,"
the attorney general's office said.
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