FIFA CASH CLAIM: Court urged to check whether Webb is hiding true wealth
KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Jeffrey Webb is the target for especial vitriol in the papers which FIFA has submitted to the New York Eastern District Court in pursuit of compensation and damages.
The Cayman Islands banker has suffered a dramatic fall from grace over the past four years when he promised to clean up CONCACAF after the Warner reign, headed FIFA’s new anti-discrimination task force and was even being tipped as a future president of the the world federation.
The happy birthday picture of Webb and wife Kendra
Then he was arrested in the Swiss police raid on the Baur au Lac Hotel in Zurich last May and extradited to the US where he has pleaded guilty to corruption charges, been hit with a $6.7 forfeiture demand and bailed to house arrest at his mansion in Loganville, near Atlanta, Georgia.
Meanwhile he has also been charged, in his absence, with business fraud and money-laundering in the Cayman Islands. This arose out of his alleged role in a healthcare payment scam which has seen friend and associate Canover Watson, a former Cayman Islands FA treasurer and FIFA audit committee member, sentenced to seven years in jail.
Birthday party
Anger within FIFA over Webb’s activities was inflamed when pictures emerged on social media of him happily hosting a swish birthday party for his wife.
Hence FIFA has asked the US Probation Office, through the courts, to “conduct an immediate accounting of [his]funds and assets.”
FIFA was concerned that Webb “may not have fully disclosed his assets to the court or to the government.”
The statement added: “A recent media report makes clear that [he] continues his extravagant lifestyle. Webb continues to live in the home that he may have purchased with bribes and kickbacks.
“Moreover, according to reports, he recently hosted an expensive themed birthday party for his wife, replete with entertainment and gambling tables.
“Ironically, a photo (purportedly posted on Facebook) shows Mr Webb playing a winning hand at the blackjack table. Having violated his duties to FIFA and others, it is time for Webb to honestly account for all of the assets available to compensate his victims.”
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