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The former FIFA Vice President Eugenio Figueredo received millions of dollars in bribes during his career at the helm of Conmebol, which oversees soccer in South America, prosecutors said on Friday.
The news came just a day after the Uruguayan former-Conmebol president was jailed in Uruguay, pending trial on charges of racketeering and money laundering, after his extradition from Switzerland over the FIFA corruption scandal.
Figueredo was one of seven high-level FIFA officials arrested in Zurich in May. If convicted, he faces two to 15 years in prison.
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According to the attorney Juan Gomez, who requested the trial and prison for Figueredo in Uruguay, Figueredo recognized the “improper handling of money in the (South American Soccer) Confederation and through the contracts that were signed, upon assuming as President, he sought to 'legalize' the 'easy money' that was distributed” in “a web of corruption that unfortunately hit South American soccer with impunity that has persisted for decades.”
The attorney also highlighted that according to Figueredo's declarations, after joining the Executive Conmebol Committee, he “received significant sums of money, coming from various ploys hatched by members of the Confederation."
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The money received was used to sign contracts with a television company, so that it would win the broadcasting rights for the Copa America, including Chile 2015 and the 2016 Centennial.
Figueredo led the Uruguayan Soccer Association from 1997 to 2006 and became CONMEBOL president in 2013. CONMEBOL's last three presidents have been arrested in the scandal.
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