NEW YORK: Disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jeff Webb has waived his legal right to “unconflicted counsel” as the date nears for his sentencing in the FIFAGate corruption case in the United States.
Webb, formerly head of the CONCACAF regional football body, pleaded guilty to seven charges of corruption in November 2015.
Since then Clifford Chance, one of the firms representing him, had undertake instructions from another defendant in the scandal.
This was banker Jorge Luis Arzuaga, who has pleaded guilty to one charge of money laundering conspiracy in connection and faces sentencing in January – the same month as Webb.
Arzuaga has admitted setting up bank accounts controlled by Alejandro Burzaco, principal of sports marketing company Torneos y Competencias SA, which were used to pay bribes to former Argentina football supremo Julio Grondona and other officials.
Burzaco is a co-defendant with Webb in the main FIFA case while Torneos has agreed to pay $113 million as part of a separate deferred prosecution agreement over charges it paid bribes for broadcast rights for multiple World Cups.
According to federal court records, Webb, through his attorneys, agreed to continue with his current lawyers.
There are several potential difficulties in having the same counsel represent different defendants in a related case, according to court records. Chief among them is a concern that attorneys who receive privileged or confidential information on behalf of one defendant could not disclose or use that information to assist the other defendant.
##########