Ex-FIFA VP Hawit pleads guilty in bribery case

Former FIFA vice president Alfredo Hawit has become the latest member of the governing body's institutionalized corruption scandal to be penalized, with the Honduras native pleading guilty to four counts of conspiracy Monday.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, paired with a forfeiture of $950,000 upon incarceration, according to Jake Pearson of the Associated Press.

"I knew that it was wrong of me to accept such payments," Hawit admitted in court Monday. Both he and his lawyer refused further comment.

Implicated in the sale of marketing rights for tournaments in Latin America, Hawit conceded in a New York federal court that he had received bribes amounting to thousands of dollars. Hawit and others had conspired to garner marketing rights for companies in Florida and Argentina in exchange for bribes paid to bank accounts owned by his family in Panama and Honduras.

Hawit was also the interim president of the North and Central American and Caribbean governing body, CONCACAF, until his arrest on Dec. 3. The Honduran was one of several FIFA executives extradited from Switzerland earlier in the year.

Free on bail ahead of a court appearance in October, Hawit is the latest former Honduran FIFA exec to have his day in court.

In March, former Honduran president and FIFA marketing and television committee member, Rafael Callejas, plead guilty to racketeering and wire fraud conspiracy. Like Hawit, Callejas conceded that he had received bribes for awarding marketing rights for World Cup matches in 2014, 2018, and 2022.