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CFU to get $3m over fraud case

Focus on transparency: Conacacaf president Victor Montagliani

The Caribbean Football Union is to receive $3,000,000 in restitution from a Miami-based media company which pleaded guilty to two counts of committing wire fraud.

It is not clear whether the Bermuda Football Association will receive any payment.

A New York City judge has ordered the company, US Imagina LCC, to pay more than $6.5 million to several Concacaf member associations on charges stemming from the US corruption investigation of Fifa.

Under the plea agreement, more than $6.5 million will go to various Concacaf member associations in Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the CFU.

The first count charged the media company with paying bribes from 2012 to 2015 in connection with acquiring rights for World Cup qualification matches from various Caribbean member associations.

The second count charged Imagina with paying bribes from 2008 to 2015 to four Central American member associations for media rights.

The allegations included an agreement by the company to split the cost of a $3 million bribe to Jeffrey Webb, then president of Concacaf. Webb, of the Cayman Islands, has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

“As the Confederation and the member associations continue to receive restitution of this kind for the various harms we have suffered, we look forward to working with our member associations and regional unions to direct the payments and reinvest in football and development to grow our sport,” Victor Montagliani, the Concacaf president, said in a statement.

“We are, again, pleased to see tangible results from the Confederation’s hard work, investment, co-operation and efforts over the past few years.

“These restitution payments would likely not have been awarded if Concacaf and our football family had not reformed ourselves. Over the past three years, we have endeavoured to change the culture of football administration in our region and how we do business. We have brought our focus back to football where it should have been all along.”

Montagliani, who was voted in as Concacaf president in May, 2016, added: “We are very pleased with this development as it shows how our focus on transparency, good governance and professionalism is paying long term dividends for the Confederation and its members.

“As the Confederation and the member associations continue to receive restitution of this kind for the various harms we have suffered, we look forward to working with our member associations and regional unions to direct the payments and reinvest in football and development to grow our sport.”