Ex-FIFA official asks to live at home with swimming pool tied to alleged £325,000 bribe while he awaits corruption trial

Former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb is charged with soliciting bribes
A bribe allegedly went towards building a swimming pool at his house in Atlanta
Webb was ordered to live within 20 miles of the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York
But he wants to live in the house in Atlanta while he awaits trial due to financial and logistical burdens

Published:
00:59 GMT, 28 August 2015

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Updated:
01:01 GMT, 28 August 2015

A former high-ranking FIFA official charged with soliciting bribes, including £325,000 that allegedly went to build a swimming pool at his home, wants to stay in the house near Atlanta while he awaits trial.

Jeffrey Webb, a former vice president at the world governing body, is charged with using his position to solicit bribes from sports marketing companies. A Cayman Islands national, he was released in July on a £6.5million bond and has since been restricted to living within 20 miles of the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.

The costs associated with staying around New York ‘are now posing extraordinary financial and logistical burdens on Mr Webb and his immediate family,’ his lawyer, Edward O’Callaghan, wrote in the letter to US District Judge Raymond Dearie.

Former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb is charged with soliciting bribes and is awaiting trial

The burdens would be less at Webb’s house in Loganville, Georgia, where Webb could also care more easily for his one-year-old son, the lawyer wrote. Webb would continue to comply with electronic monitoring and have a security detail, as he does now, the lawyer wrote.

The Loganville house figured in the indictment disclosed in May of Webb and 13 other former football officials and businessmen. A £325,000 bribe payment allegedly went to build a swimming pool there, according to the indictment.

Dearie has not ruled on the request from Webb’s lawyer, according to court records. Prosecutors are not opposing it, according to the letter. A spokeswoman for prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Webb and six other football officials were arrested on May 27 in Zurich as they prepared to attend a FIFA congress. He later waived objections to being extradited to the United States.

His bond was secured by 10 properties, three cars, a case of jewelry and watches belonging to Webb and his wife, and financial assets including a 401(k) retirement account.