Former Colombian football chief pleads guilty to wire fraud and bribery
Xinhua, December 5, 2015 Adjust font size:
The former President of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), Luis Bedoya, has pleaded guilty in the U.S. to committing wire fraud and bribery, Colombian press reported on Friday.
According to the indictment from the U.S. Attorney General's Office, Bedoya has admitted his responsibility and has committed to returning the funds deposited on his accounts in Switzerland and other countries.
Bedoya, 56, resigned his position at the FCF on November 9, citing personal reasons, and immediately travelled to New York.
Also on Friday, Colombia's attorney general's office announced that it has opened its own investigation into Bedoya for alleged money laundering.
Colombia's deputy attorney general, Jorge Fernando Perdomo, explained the investigation is focusing on money transfers made to international accounts from the FCF.
"The attorney general's office is greatly interested...in opening new lines of investigation against other people linked to the football business," added Perdomo in a press release.
He stated that Colombian authorities are not investigating the same accusations as those that motivated Bedoya's arrest by the U.S. as "he cannot be judged twice for the same facts." Endi