Trinidad Court Halts Extradition of Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner to US

Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner has won a decade-long legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces corruption charges linked to one of football’s biggest scandals.

Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court on Tuesday permanently stayed extradition proceedings against Warner, 82, ruling that the process was flawed in the absence of an official extradition agreement between the two countries.

Warner was among 14 individuals indicted by US prosecutors in May 2015 in a 47-count charge that included racketeering and bribery. Since then, he had fought extradition at every legal level, including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, which dismissed his appeal in November 2022, effectively clearing the way for extradition.

However, at a hearing on September 12, Warner’s defence argued that no formal treaty existed between Trinidad and Tobago and the US, a requirement for extradition. An attorney representing the state, who had recently assumed the case, did not oppose the submission.

Justice Karen Reid subsequently ruled that the proceedings could not stand.

Following the judgment, Warner told The Associated Press he felt vindicated. “I could never get back the lost reputation, which has happened to me. My life can now begin afresh, but it’s 10 years too late,” he said.

Warner, who was forced out of FIFA in 2011 over a bribery scandal, has consistently denied wrongdoing despite numerous allegations. A 2020 US Department of Justice indictment accused him of receiving $5 million in bribes to support Russia’s successful bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Beyond football, Warner also served as a government minister and member of parliament in Trinidad and Tobago.

Faridah Abdulkadiri