Barbados Today

A Uruguayan judge has seized nine properties belonging to Eugenio Figueredo, a FIFA vice president who faces possible extradition to the United States on corruption charges.

Figueredo is one of 14 current and former FIFA officials and corporate executives indicted by U.S. justice officials on allegations of running a criminal enterprise involving more than $150 million in bribes. He was arrested in Switzerland on May 27.

One source said the asset grab included five properties in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, and four in the chic coastal resort of Punta del Este.

“Part of the proceedings involved this seizure of Figueredo’s properties,” the source said.

A prosecutor familiar with the case confirmed the asset seizure and said it was part of Uruguay’s investigations into Figueredo’s activities, adding that it was not made at the behest of the United States.

The first source was unable to put a value on the properties. Uruguay’s daily El Observador newspaper estimated the figure at $5 million, and reported the properties were all either in the name of Figueredo, his wife or businesses he controlled.

Figueredo used to run Uruguayan soccer and was vice president of the South American soccer confederation CONMEBOL from 1993 to 2013. He then briefly headed CONMEBOL for a year before stepping down to take up the role as FIFA vice president.

Figueredo is being held in Switzerland following his arrest alongside six other senior soccer officials in a dawn raid on a luxury Zurich hotel.