(Reuters) – The octogenarian Brazilian soccer boss jailed as part of the corruption investigation inside world soccer’s governing body FIFA is to be released early on compassionate grounds, the judge in the case said on Monday.
Pamela K. Chen said Jose Maria Marin, the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), was being released early in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Across the United States, jails and prisons are reporting an accelerating spread of the disease, and thousands of inmates are being shown clemency and released to limit the number of potential victims.
Marin was serving a four-year sentence that was scheduled to end in December.
Chen’s statement cited the 87-year old Marin’s “advanced age, significantly deteriorating health, elevated risk of dire health consequences due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, status as a non-violent offender, and service of 80% of his original sentence,” as the reasons for his early release.
It did not say exactly when he would be freed from the Allenwood prison in Pennsylvania.
Marin was found guilty in December 2017 on six conspiracy counts, including to commit racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
The man who oversaw the organisation of the 2014 World Cup was one of three CBF presidents indicted in the FIFA corruption scandal, but the only one jailed.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
