PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Former FIFA vice-president Austin ‘Jack’ Warner filed an appeal challenging an extradition order issued by the U.S., saying it goes against local extradition laws.
Warner, 72, expressed concern about his finances and the cost of the entire process.
“I am concerned that the amount of money it will take to defend myself in relation to these charges will drain all of my resources and leave me in a parlous financial state during my last years when I am found not guilty,” he said.
The former politician, who appeared in the High Court, also deemed illegal the go ahead given by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to proceed with the extradition process.
According to documents supporting his application for leave, Warner said since the beginning of the process to have him face criminal prosecution in the U.S., he has had significant and persistent anxiety.
Warner, who held positions as a minister in the last People’s Partnership government; chairman of the UN Congress; and political leader and chairman of the fledging Independent Liberal Party, withdrew from FIFA-related activities in 2011.
There are several allegations against him relating to the decades he spent in football, from black market ticket sales to requests for personal payments, and pocketing football’s money.
Warner was indicted in May by a U.S. grand jury on 12 charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering over an escalating scandal at FIFA. On July 23, U.S. authorities asked for Warner, a former head of CONCACAF to be extradited to face the charges.