FIFA bans indicted El Salvador official for taking bribes

ZURICH (AP) — A former president of the El Salvador soccer federation has been banned for life by FIFA for taking bribes from commercial deals for World Cup qualifying games.

Reynaldo Vásquez has also been fined 500,000 Swiss francs ($503,000).

Vásquez was investigated for taking bribes from 2009-11 that were detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice in an indictment published in December 2015. While American authorities sought to extradite Vásquez, he was convicted of financial wrongdoing in his home country in a case not involving soccer.

The U.S. indictment detailed Vásquez getting six-figure bribes from deals with the agency MediaWorld.

In a July 2018 non-prosecution agreement for the agency, by then called Imagina US, its guilty plea called for $565,000 to be repaid to the Salvadoran soccer body. The document noted Vásquez has not been brought before an American court.