Trinidad court blocks extradition of former FIFA vice president Jack Warner

A Trinidad and Tobago high court permanently stayed extradition proceedings against former FIFA vice president Jack Warner on Tuesday, blocking his transfer to the United States to face racketeering and bribery charges tied to a bribery scandal surrounding soccer’s world governing body.

Warner was among 14 individuals named in a 47-count indictment filed by U.S. authorities in May 2015. He had been fighting extradition for more than a decade. His case went as far as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, which serves as Trinidad and Tobago’s highest court; in November 2022, the Privy Council dismissed Warner’s appeal against extradition, effectively clearing the way for his transfer to the United States. However, on Sept. 12, Warner’s defense attorneys argued there was no formal extradition agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.

On Tuesday, Justice Karen Reid ruled that the extradition proceedings were flawed because there is no official extradition treaty between the two countries, rendering the proceedings invalid.

Following the ruling, Warner told The Associated Press that he felt vindicated and that justice had been served. "I could never get back the lost reputation, which has happened to me," he said. "My life can now begin afresh, but it’s 10 years too late."

Warner has faced corruption allegations stemming from his time in FIFA. In 2020, a U.S. Department of Justice indictment accused him of receiving roughly $5 million in bribes to vote for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup; Warner was forced out of FIFA in 2011 amid a bribery scandal. He also previously served as a government minister and member of Parliament in Trinidad and Tobago.

The ruling marks a significant legal development in a case that has hovered over world soccer for a decade and relates to ongoing scrutiny of FIFA's governance and corruption investigations.