Webb fighting US extradition

| 29/05/2015 | 104 Comments
Cayman News Service

Jeff Webb, currently facing extradition to the US on racketeering charges

(CNS): The Swiss authorities have confirmed that Jeffrey Webb and his fellow accused are fighting the extradition to the United States and have been granted a hearing. The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said it has granted Zürich Cantonal Police hearings on the US arrest request, according to a press release, in which officials said the majority of the seven people arrested are contesting the request for extradition.

As a result, the FOJ stated, it will now ask the USA to submit formal extradition requests within the 40-day period provided for in the bilateral extradition treaty. “Extradition proceedings will be resumed as soon as these requests have been received,” the office stated, noting that the men still have time to agree to simplified extradition proceedings.

“At the initial hearing, one person indicated that they were willing to pursue simplified extradition. If such simplified extradition can be approved, the person concerned may be handed over to the US authorities immediately,” the Swiss authorities said. However, it is understood that the individual concerned has now also chosen to fight the move.

Meanwhile, it is understood that Webb remains in the custody of the Zürich Cantonal Police, along with the others arrested in the corruption investigation, which being conducted on two fronts.

While the US authorities are probing over 25 years of potential corruption in CONCACAF and CONMEBOL — the probe which netted Webb — the Swiss authorities are questioning him and others over the controversial award of the next two World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

The Zürich police have reportedly interviewed Webb and his co-accused on behalf of the US and are believed to be questioning him over the Swiss investigation as well.

The FOJ has also ordered the blocking of accounts at several banks in Switzerland through which bribes are claimed to have flowed, as well as the seizure of related bank documents, the authorities revealed.

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Comments (104)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Cayman looked so nice on the BBC last night. Everyone must be so proud that the international community are once again looking at Cayman as the home of criminal money laundering and corruption in public office.
    Whether the inferences and perceptions are true or not, mud like that sticks and you can bet the FCO, the Serious Fraud Office and the RCIPS are looking very closely at CIFA and any notable public figures who have had a cosy relationship with Webb over the past few years.
    I bet there are some very nervous backsides on this island at the moment.

  2. Anonymous says:

    BREAKING NEWS……British banks linked to FIFA scandal.LMBAO

  3. Thor says:

    If mr. Webb isn’t guilty and by owning properties in the U.S.A, why would he fight the extradition? Isn’t he considered partial American?

  4. Dr. Petriovy says:

    Fighting extradition. It’s like that scene in Hunt for Red October when Tim Curry triumphantly observes that “the Captain is fighting the Americans!”……

  5. Anonymous says:

    I believe Webb is up the creek as well. There is a detail that few people are reading in the entire story. 4 key people associated with FIFA and the sports marketing companies have reached plea bargains in the past couple of years. These details were just released when the raids were made. It appears the DOJ have mounted a formidable case with 4 plea bargains to support and gather evidence. Blake was wired and taped many conversations among Webb and associates. This is going to make a great movie script!

    • Anonymous says:

      Blazer was wired and entered a guilty plea. Blake may have been wired, but he didn’t know anything about it.

  6. Rp says:

    One thing to note is that when leaders are charged with crimes offshore they are sacked immediately. Why is CIFA silent? Why hasn’t he been sacked? Why is CIFA not making a press release? Why is it that in Cayman we tolerate this behaviour?

    Minister of education DUI – left in duty.
    Turtle farm irregularities, perpetrator promoted to ERA high ranks
    Premier charged – took almost a month for vote of no confidence and ran for office while under investigation
    CIFA silent even though FIFA has banned Webb from all football activities.

    Feel free to add more examples.

    • Anonymous says:

      Thanks, to Cayman’s criminal friendly justice system.
      And, you wonder who makes the laws vs. who applies them.
      Anything pertaining the high calibre people, their families and close affiliates (to include business partnerships) and white-collar embezzlers and pilferers.
      The evidence could be stalk to the ceiling Cayman’s Court House, and the would still proclaim them innocent due to the lack of evidence (after tampering with cases)

    • 4-2-3-1 says:

      I think the takeaway point here is that CIFA IS JEFF WEBB and he’s just a bit busy right now…….

  7. Anonymous says:

    The nauseating sight of corrupt African and Caribbean FIFA officials fawning over this poisonous little man after todays election just says it all.
    The palpable sigh of relief from these odious representatives of self interest was absolutely disgusting and speaks volumes about the ethical standards of these nations.

    • Anonymous says:

      Please dont tar whole nations because of these scumbags.

      • Anonymous says:

        These scumbags are representatives of nations, they hold the reputation of their country and their respective federations in their hands. They are meant to act as ambassadors for their people and set an example to them by standing for the highest standards of integrity and leadership.
        So yes, they are representative of their nation and its people and shamefully expose the corruption that’s blights them. The problem for these nations is recognising what corruption is and when corruption exists. By the deafening sound of silence coming from Cayman’s politicians, soccer federation and from a section of its population, I’m not sure they are capable of that recognition.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Old pirates yes they rob i, sold us to the merchant ships- Bob Marley.

    • Anonymous says:

      Old Pirates = African tribes and Arab slave traders, no pirate sold anyone to a slave ship.

      And that’s the problem here, an entitlement mentality and attitude based on self pity and the manipulation of history instead of honesty, integrity and hard work. The doped up musings of a false prophet does help either.
      When will Africa and the Caribbbean learn that respect isn’t earned at the barrel of a gun, the size of your car, how much gold you wear or how much money you have. It is earned through strength of character and positive behaviour, something that sorely lacks in their both cultures.

      • Passport2Excess says:

        Um these are universal traits not exclusive to Africa or the Caribbean (or, what you really meant, black people). Wall Street = gold watches, big cars, planes and yachts and expensive uptown lofts. But that’s all good because they sure don’t steal any of it.

        A little more consistency. A little less hypocrisy please………

        • Cass says:

          Agreed passport I like how this person just generalizes about all Caribbean people like we all are selfish pricks. Further the person doesn’t understand what Bob Marley meant by pirates he didn’t mean it literally but metaphorically. This person is indeed a hypocrite with a chip on his or her shoulder clearly for colored people. You got good and bad wherever u may go please stop judging us as if your country is squeaky clean. Same issues here in cayman are everywhere else too. I want to add that true caymanians are people with the highest degree of integrity and respect for others and we the true caymanian people never feel entightled to anything as we know how hard you must work to be successful. We don’t expect anything handed to us.

          • Anonymous says:

            Not a generalisation, just fact. The trouble is by coming out with crap like ‘true Caymanians are people with the highest degree of integrity and respect for others’ just proves the point. If anyone should be accused of hypocrisy, it’s you.
            Cayman is a joke around the world, perhaps if you got of of this speck of land you would realise just how stupid you sound.
            I have no chip, just experience, something you couldn’t possibly understand living on a cosseted rock.
            And Bob Marley didn’t know what day it was most of the time, how the hell can anything he said be taken seriously by intelligent people. He didn’t understand most of the s##t he sang, why should we?
            Also, going by recent reparations talk, you do expect something for nothing.

        • Anonymous says:

          How about a little less whinging and whining about how bad life is and get on with trying to make it better. Wall Street is a micro culture populated by many different races, including black. But gangster rap, tribal and ethnic conflict, inter gang rivalries and an inbuilt desire to kill or impoverish millions of their own is definitely an African and Caribbean trait.

      • Shhhhhh. says:

        WELL SAID!

    • Anonymous says:

      don’t forget who sold us to the ships……our own black greedy, unethical ancestors. ANything new?

      • Anonymous says:

        I’m flipping sick of hearing about the black man selling their own people, the white man shouldn’t have flipping gone to Africa in the first place…. How about that Mr historian?

        • Anonymous says:

          Oh yes, the African tribes never sold a slave to the Arabs, Romans, Assyrians, Greeks or a dozen other pre-white man world civilisations. You see, the truth is that Africans sold each other before written history and still invoke tribal, caste and ethnic cleansing when they can, right up to the present day. Just take any African country and tell us that they are a prime example of honesty, integrity and equality. Oh you can’t, well that’s a shock.
          I know the truth hurts, but no white man ever entered the African bush to gather slaves, they just accepted and transported them. And yes, it was wrong, but it was a trade that had existed for centuries before they arrived.
          Before you protest too much, go to West Africa and see how the African tribes sought to cleanse their lands of those considered inferior. See the slave jails, smell the history and listen to the local historians who will gladly name the tribes who sold their own out.
          Reading a biased history, written by drugged up song writers is not fact.
          And to be precise, the Latinos, (Portuguese/Spanish) got to Africa before the rest of Europe. It was they who took the largest proportion of slaves from Africa to Brazil, so please get the facts right.
          It is always amusing when those who have never been to Africa speak with such authority, claiming that their historical roots qualify them to make naive statements.

          So exactly where would people of African origin be now if the whiteman had never gone to Africa? Probably living in poverty and at the mercy of a corrupt tribal regime that forces its people into servitude and starvation. But of course, that isn’t happening, is it? Its all a conspiracy. Oooohhhhhh!!

          When African and Caribbean countries prove that corruption and oppression of their own people is a thing of the past, then I’ll take you seriously.

          You may be flipping sick of hearing it, but that doesn’t make it true none the less.

          • K. Kinte says:

            We get it. You don’t like Bob Marley….

          • Anonymous says:

            On the subject of “drugged up songwriters” from Liverpool (Marley was half Liverpudlian after all), what are your views on the social commentary offerings of Lennon and McCartney?

      • Anonymous says:

        You sound like the Americans who blame the Latins for selling them drugs because the buyer is innocent as he has no brains; the seller is the guilty one.

  9. Eiger Sanction says:

    Unfortunately we have some on this island who’s blind belief in those who’s very foundations are built on corrupt & murderous principles .Who’s hypocritical self righteous conduct and interventionist ideas or actions are only activated or motivated by threats to their very own Greed. Fortunately the rest of the free and not so free world has now recognized it and have become indifferent to this hypocrisy, so much so that it would rather suffer with the evil it knows than to take chances with those puppets it deems either under control or run by these very hypocrites and parasites. FIFA’s boss Sepp Blatter reelected!! Game over. May God have mercy on you Mr Jeffrey Webb.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Blather has just been returned as FIFA President. CONCACAF and CIFA must be very proud. I hope UAFA now boycott the World Cup and all FIFA tournaments until this corrupt circle of nations is taught a valuable lesson in ethics. The U.S. should disavow its connection with all federations that supported Blatter, as should any right thinking and honest football association around the world.

  11. Anonymous says:

    What about the other Caymanians there, are they ok? Will they be allowed to travel home?

    • Anonymous says:

      If they are in anyway complicit in corrupt behaviour or have profited from it, then no, they should be held accountable.

    • Rp says:

      I don’t think nationality has anything to do with this. Webb did not commit an act of terrorism or declare a Cayman attack on FIFA. If that were the case Caymanians might have had a tougher time at the border but certainly this is not the case.

      • Anonymous says:

        But he does represent Cayman and Caymanians to the world. His face is all over the worlds press and so is his country of origin. Cayman’s name is already mired in decades of money laundering and tax evasion, he has just reinforced the worlds opinion of a nation that takes, doesn’t ask questions and protects wrongdoers.
        Still think that nationality has nothing to do with this?
        Don’t be so damn naive.

        • Rp says:

          Re read the question! Are you saying Caymanians living in Switzerland cannot travel home because of JW wrong doing? Are you saying that caymanians traveling on vacations will be scrutinized at border controls all over the world? this guy caused irreparable damage to our country’s image, but Caymanians will still be able to travel to and from home.

          • Anonymous says:

            Read the response. It clearly makes the point that it is the reputation of Cayman and Caymanians that has been damaged. That does not mean that Caymanians will be stopped or searched, but it does reinforce the stereotype around the world that Cayman is the home of people who only care for themselves at the expense of others.
            National representatives are the face of the country and its people, for good or bad, that’s just the way it is.

    • Anonymous says:

      Of course they are ok. They are on their way to the FA Cup final as I write.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Cayman represented at FIFA health workshop – Caribdaily
    caribdaily.com/a/2705643/cayman-represented-at-fifa-health-workshop/
    Apr 27, 2015 – Cayman was one of seven pilot countries to attend the event. Youth Football Committee Chairman Mark Scotland, Grassroots Coordinator …

    Bodden Town FC off to New Zealand for OFC President’s Cup
    http://www.loopcayman.com/…/bodden-town-fc-new-zealand-ofc-presidents-c...
    Nov 13, 2014 – Bodden Town FC left Grand Cayman on Tuesday, for New Zealand to … Asia and Fiji’s National U-20 team, tuning up for the FIFA U-201 World Cup. … for Cayman football,” said Bodden Town FC President Mark Scotland.

    • Anonymous says:

      Has mr Scotland been arrested too?

      • Anonymous says:

        Don’t know about him being arrested; but, he certainly has not yet returned to Cayman Shores. Odd- isn’t it?

        And, today, is day-4 since the breaking news.

        • Anonymous says:

          Is Bruce Blake there too? He and Canover Watson are close with Mr Webb and I would bet there is a lot of scrutiny going on about that relationship.

  13. Passport2Excess says:

    And don’t even think about connecting at NMIA. Last Caymanian fugitive who tried to go through Kingston was kidnapped as he stepped onto the tarmac and put on a plane to Miami.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Jeff is totally screwed in my opinion. It’s one thing to be investigated by the FBI but when the IRS get’s their paws on you, you’re absolutely up S&%T creek without a paddle.

    Going back in history, when Al Capone was doing his dirty deeds as a mobster in Chicago in the 1930’s and the FBI had difficulty taking him down, it was the IRS that eventually got him and sent him to Alcatraz for a very long time.

    Ask an American you know……… if they had a choice to be investigated by the FBI or IRS, I bet 99% of them would prefer to be investigated the FBI but definitely not by the IRS.

    Those guys at the IRS will squeeze yours “family jewels” so so hard that your great great grandfather will feel it in his grave.

    • Anonymous says:

      That is so true, however if the FBI are involved then this is a very big deal indeed, especially as it deals with international corruption and money laundering. Don’t be surprised if Cayman isn’t in the spot light again for handling the proceeds of this huge crime. HSBC and Barclays international banking are already named as being involved and with HSBC (Cayman) implicated in recent money laundering, nothing should be discounted.
      This could get a whole lot bigger yet.

    • Anonymous says:

      Is Webb a U.S. Citizen?

    • Anonymous says:

      Jeff Webb is allegedly very corrupt and should face jail if he’s convicted. But in response to the above poster regarding the IRS. That’s because the IRS is a tyrannic financial organization driven by a punitive/destructive tax policy and not bound by due process. (Which is why anyone making any money is trying to avoid it on a wold wide scale), The IRS can seize your accounts,close you business down without any court orders. The head of the IRS, probably even more corrupt that Webb caught using their powers to assault conservative groups via audits and tax penalties, then destroying evidence during an investigation (https://www.google.com/#q=irs+lost+emails) should probably be leading the way to Jail for Jeff Webb.

      The IRS is the single most corrupt and destructive force in the world. Not Webb.

      • Anonymous says:

        Easily remedied, don’t live in the U.S or hold a U.S. Passport if you hate having to pay your fair share to support your country and your people. Maybe, just maybe, that is Cayman’s problem. No one is compelled to pay their fair share from their earnings so nobody cares, it’s everyman for himself.

        • Anonymous says:

          True @723

        • Dread P. Roberts says:

          You don’t have to “live” in the US to become tax resident. The tax code is so draconian and rapacious that as few as four months a year as a visitor will get you snared. So who is the bigger thief? A pirate or a pirate nation?

        • Anonymous says:

          Yeah, do you pay your “fair share” of taxes? How much taxes did YOU pay thus far?? and let us decide whether that’s fair or not….

          • Anonymous says:

            Oh dear, I pay all applicable taxes in full as required by UK law and do not indulge in any tax avoidance scheme which places me at an advantage over other tax payers.
            Last year I was entitled to £10,000+ in personal allowances then taxed at the basic rate of UK tax. I have a clear conscience, I pay my way even though I don’t live there, what’s your excuse?

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s an idiotic decision to fight the extradition – he simply has to answer the substantive allegations. Even if he succeeds in fighting the extradition (extremely unlikely), where is he going to go – Moscow, Zimbabwe, the ISIS Caliphate?

  15. Anonymous says:

    Meanwhile, back here in Cayman, a caller to Orrett Connor’s radio show this morning, during a discussion about Mr Webb’s problems, stated “the ruination of Cayman began with the 2003 status grants” to which Mr Connor, interrupting her, said enthusiastically in agreement “tell me about it”. Quite apart from the issue of whether a radio host should be neutral about issues, we see once again some Caymanians refusal to see that most of the problems here in Cayman are well and truly “home grown”.

    • Anonymous says:

      The ruination of Cayman came when these islands adopted international finance and off shore banking. This promoted Cayman’s profile in the world, increased tourism and saw a huge climb in the population. This is no longer the island bequeathed by the 60’s generation of approximately 10,000 people who hoped for an increase in living standards and security for its people. Instead we have ended up with a population obsessed with self interest, self entitlement and simple greed.
      This, (as are most problems here on Cayman) is a home grown problem engineered by Caymanians, pure and simple.

      • Anonymous says:

        From Mosquitos to Mercedes eh? It has actually been a good thing, notwithstanding a few hiccups and our current dismal civil servants and politicians who are doing their utmost to ruin the show.

    • Anonymous says:

      Mr Connor should know all about it. He was the Cabinet Secretary in 2003, sitting right there in Cabinet with the Ministers and Acting Governor (the real Governor was on several weeks’ leave), churning out the lists of thousands (many of them justifiable, though the method was not) to get their Status during the Gold Rush..

      • Anonymous says:

        But what has that got to do with a Caymanian being arrested for corruption?

        • Anonymous says:

          The original very heated remark from a woman to Mr Connor’s show which was discussing the Webb affair was about Cayman’s ills stemming from the Status grants-a comment he eagerly agreed with. The inference left hanging (as always) was that none of these problems-even the Webb affair, the subject of the program, – would have occurred if it had not been for these grants. Stupid, yes. But Mr Connor, a very intelligent man and once the third most powerful civil servant in the country, made no effort to put any other side to the argument of the woman who called him and who then, by the way, went on to the common talk show rant about Cayman being the only place in the world where foreigners can come and do well, it’s sickening etc etc..

      • Anonymous says:

        So, if the 2003 status grants are indeed a problem, it is yet another example of a homegrown one since the Acting Governor was a Caymanian and all the Ministers of Cabinet were too, of course, and they were the ones who took the decision to make the grants and also who to give the status to.

        • Anonymous says:

          Was the Attorney General involved in the grants?

          • Anonymous says:

            He was there and was one of the first that the Caymanian Ministers and Acting Governor gave Status to. But the main business, as everyone knows, was done by the politicians and their instructions to the Acting Governor.

            • Anonymous says:

              Who advised on the legality of it all? It seems very strange that some guys can get lists in a back room and hand outs citizenship with no vetting.

              • Anonymous says:

                Grant of Status by Cabinet or ExCo as it used to be called was a process that was done for ex Governors and Attorney Generals and a very few other recipients LONG before Bulgin even came to Cayman, so it was known for “donkey years” that it was a legal process.

        • Anonymous says:

          If you were offered that amount of money you would sell out your country also. It’s obvious with all the thumbs up, you are all status recipients!

          • Anonymous says:

            Regrettably, I cannot follow the logic ( I use the word loosely) of that nasty little remark 8:06, especially in the context of a Caymanian who is a non status recipient being arraigned on fraud and a host of other charges grossly detrimental to the image of his country.

      • Neva4Get says:

        Preach!! Many deserved status and should have received it via a legitimate and transparent process. However, a gaggle of elected Caymanians and their Caymanian supporters all ran around putting friends and connected people on lists. It was like a wedding guest list that got out of control, to the extent that people were handing out status to their gardeners despite claims that it was only lawyers and doctors who made the grade. This one debacle led to the complete erosion of any semblance of honesty and integrity in local politics and created the corruption monster that lurks under the surface to this day.

    • Anonymous says:

      I did not hear the show but if OC was referring to the cabinet grants to cricketers and footballers to get them on the national team, that lead to the realization by the govt of the day that they could grant to anyone without due process, then “tell me about it” sums it up. Costas Takkas and Keith Myers do indeed have a lot to answer for.

      Caymanian by Grant of the Board.

      • Anonymous says:

        That was not what either the caller or Mr Connor was referring to (I did hear the show). It was the usual insinuation heard often on talk shows and read in some of the comments here on CNS from time to time – usually when there has been a murder or robbery. And I find it hard to believe that the Cabinet of the day only learned after giving out Status to sportsman that this was a method to Status by Cabinet that they could use to avoid due process. ExCo/Cabinet used to give out Status to former Governors and Attorneys General and others they wished to reward; the difference was, it only ever amounted to one or two a year, not 3000.

  16. Akech says:

    How did a black man from Cayman Islands managed to control FIFA in favor of Russia???

    • Anonymous says:

      He didn’t particularly have sole control of any part of FIFA. He was an (influential) executive level decision-maker. His input matters.

      FIFA negotiations is a concerted effort. Teamwork.

      • Anonymous says:

        Exactly. It takes teamwork to administer such huge corruption. They are all in it up to their necks.

    • Anonymous says:

      because he has ties and access to the caymans ‘financial services’ indusrty…..

    • Anonymous says:

      What has his color got to do with it?

      • Al Jabber says:

        In fact his height probably played a large part. Management studies show that height of over six feet is a tremendous advantage for promotion to the top.

      • Anonymous says:

        The color comment is because Russia is famously racist and anti black players. It is therefore an irony that Mr.Webb would have supported Russia as a venue for the world cup….implication being…”without alleged inducement.”

    • Anonymous says:

      I figured some arse would bring up the race card eventually sick!

      • Anonymous says:

        At a guess, I’d say that the ‘black man’ comment was made by a person of colour, if the use of local grammar and irony is anything to go by. And yes, his colour isn’t important but making assumptions is, especially when using the race card.

      • Anonymous says:

        No, just shocked that Webb supported racist Russia against what he said he wanted to clean up. Sorry the Georgia mansion showed it all for me.

    • CI says:

      You are a disgrace! Racist

    • Anonymous says:

      Especially one who attended “anti discrimination in football” conferences.
      It stinks, and the other local pigs at the trough should go down with him for giving Cayman a third-world sleaze reputation…don’t care who they are.

  17. Anonymous says:

    Are monitoring this system?

    • Anonymous says:

      What’s your point? This is a blog.
      Keep monitoring. Yes! Even, follow our IP Addresses is you want. It won’t change the indictments, charges or extradition orders.

      It is..what it is…

      • Just Sayin' says:

        Yo Mac, it is not a “blog”. Not even remotely close.

      • Anonymous says:

        Knock yourself out!
        Whilst you are doing this, the whole Webb et al situation I believe will get far more interesting. More will feature and it would not shock me when more local links emerge.

  18. Anonymous says:

    Man, it just gets worse (and we kinda knew it would)…CIFA wtf?!?

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