Sergio Jadue was president of Chile’s football association ANFP and pleaded guilty to corruption charges in 2015. Yet, he has successfully postponed sentencing 14 times since 2016. He is now an FBI witness and lives in Miami.
The former president of Chile’s professional football association ANFP, Sergio Jadue, was expected to receive a sentence regarding corruption charges on Oct. 13.
But local media reported he yet again successfully postponed sentencing in the so-called FIFAgate scandal involving bribes for TV rights. Overall, he’s done so 14 times since 2016.
The FIFA bombshell
In 2015, seven FIFA officials were arrested in a hotel in Switzerland on suspicions of corruption, money laundering and bribery. Jadue was among several officials of South American football confederation Conmebol who were targeted.
He and some of his Conmebol peers received payments for the TV rights of the Copa Libertadores and Copa América Centenario matches. In Dec. 2015, Jadue signed a plea bargain with US investigators, under which he admitted to conspiracy, organized crime, and electronic fraud.
To get his sentence reduced, he agreed to collaborate with the investigation and helped expose the corrupt leaders of football associations in Colombia, Ecuador, and of Conmebol. Radio Agricultura reported that Jadue feared being on a hit list because he was seen as a snitch.
Life in Miami
Later on, Jadue agreed to collaborate with the FBI in the FIFA investigation as a protected witness. He paid a US$1 million bail to remain out of prison. Because he’s a protected witness, the FBI, however, pays him US$2,500 per month for living expenses, Chilean media reported.
With that money, Jadue rents an apartment in Miami’s Sunny Isles neighborhood, where he rents out speed boats for US$200 per hour.
In Chile, a criminal complaint was filed against Jadue in 2016, with a 10-year statute of limitations since he is not in the country. He is accused of hiding US$1.6 million in the Virgin Islands.
Catalina Vergara is graduated in Social Communications from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She has previously worked on Strategic Communications.