Juan Ángel Napout
{{Short description|Paraguayan football executive}}
{{family name hatnote|Napout|Barreto|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Juan Ángel Napout Barreto
| image = File:Juan Napout.jpg
| image_size = 180px
| caption = Juan Napout in 2010
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|05|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Asunción, Paraguay
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| nationality = Paraguayan
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| title = President of CONMEBOL
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| term = 2014–2015
| predecessor = Eugenio Figueredo
| successor = Alejandro Dominguez
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Juan Ángel Napout Barreto (born 13 May 1958) is a Paraguayan football executive and businessman. He was head of the Paraguayan Football Association from 2007 to 2014. Napout served as President of CONMEBOL from August 2014 until his resignation on 11 December 2015 after his arrest in Zurich, Switzerland, in relation to the 2015 FIFA corruption case. In December 2015, he was banned by the FIFA Ethics Committee for 90 days.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/04/fifa-suspends-juan-angel-napout-alfredo-hawit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205153233/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/04/fifa-suspends-juan-angel-napout-alfredo-hawit |title=Fifa suspends Juan Ángel Napout and Alfredo Hawit for 90 days |work=The Guardian |date=4 December 2015 |archive-date=5 December 2015}}
Biography
Napout was born on 13 May 1958 in Asunción, Paraguay.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.conmebol.com/en/juan-angel-napout-barreto |title=Juan Ángel Napout Barreto |publisher=CONMEBOL |date=16 April 2015 |accessdate=3 June 2015}} In June 1989, at the age of 32, Napout became the President of the Paraguayan football club Cerro Porteño. From 2007 to 2014, Napout was President of the Paraguayan Football Association.{{cite web|author= |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/napout-elected-conmebol-president-170344562--sow.html |title=Napout re-elected as CONMEBOL president |publisher=Yahoo News via AFP |date=4 March 2015}}
Napout succeeded Eugenio Figueredo as President of CONMEBOL in August 2014 on an interim basis. On 4 March 2015 he was re-elected for a full term as President of CONMEBOL and was also appointed Vice-President of FIFA.
Napout was arrested in Zürich on 3 December 2015 on charges of accepting bribes.{{cite news|title=Police swoop on Fifa stronghold Baur au Lac hotel - for the second time this year|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/fifa/12030488/Police-swoop-on-Fifa-stronghold-Baur-au-Lac-hotel-for-the-second-time-this-year.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=3 December 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.infobae.com/2015/05/29/1731911-napout-esta-acusado-cobrar-coimas-us75-millones/ |title=Napout está acusado de cobrar coimas por u$s7,5 millones |language=Spanish |website=Infobae |date=29 May 2015}} On 11 December 2015 Napout resigned as President of CONMEBOL and was succeeded in interim capacity by Wilmar Valdez.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/2751748/juan-angel-napout-resigns-as-conmebol-president |title=Juan Angel Napout resigns as CONMEBOL president |publisher=ESPN |date=11 December 2015}}
After his arrest Napout agreed to extradition and appeared before a federal judge in New York on 15 December 2015 and declared himself not guilty on the five charges brought against him. He was afterwards released on bail.{{cite web |url=http://www.infobae.com/2015/12/15/1776793-escandalo-fifa-juan-angel-napout-pago-usd-20-millones-fianza-y-tendra-arresto-domiciliario |title=Escándalo FIFA: Juan Ángel Napout pagó USD 20 millones de fianza y tendrá arresto domiciliario |language=Spanish |website=Infobae |date=15 December 2015}} His trial commenced in November 2017.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-fifa/fifa-bribery-trial-due-to-kick-off-in-new-york-court-idUSKBN1D6182 |title=FIFA bribery trial due to kick off in New York court |publisher=Reuters |date=6 November 2017}} He was accused by U.S. authorities of racketeering conspiracy as well as wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The U.S. assistant attorney stated he requested and accepted bribes.{{cite web|author=Rebecca R. Ruiz |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/sports/soccer/fifa-trial-marin-napout-burga.html |title=FIFA Trial Opens With References to Cash Drops and Bag Men |work=The New York Times |date=13 November 2017 |accessdate=5 December 2017}} On 22 December 2017 Napout was found guilty on three counts of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/sports/soccer/fifa-trial.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223031609/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/sports/soccer/fifa-trial.html |title=2 Top Soccer Officials Found Guilty in FIFA Case |work=The New York Times |date=22 December 2017 |archive-date=23 December 2017}} On 29 August 2018, Napout was sentenced to nine years in prison.{{cite web|author= Tom Hays|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ex-south-american-soccer-official-to-be-sentenced-in-us-case/|title=Ex-South American soccer official gets prison sentence |date=29 August 2018}}
In November 2017, investigations of the Paradise Papers revealed that, in 2010, Napout created a company in the Bahamas the day he started to receive bribes from the Datisa (the consortium handling football broadcasting rights in Paraguay). A proxy bank account based in Switzerland was also set under his wife's name (Ruth Forster) to wire the money from the Bahamas to a European account and reroute it back to Paraguay.{{in lang|es}} [https://www.eluniverso.com/deportes/2017/11/06/nota/6466732/dinero-sobornos-transferidos-esposa Dinero de sobornos, transferidos por esposa de Juan Ángel Napout], Eluniverso, 6 November 2017{{in lang|es}} [http://www.notimerica.com/deportes/noticia-juan-angel-napout-aparece-paradise-papers-mismo-dia-inicia-juicio-sobornos-fifa-gate-20171108122024.html Juan Ángel Napout aparece en 'Paradise Papers' el mismo día que se inicia su juicio por los sobornos del 'FIFA Gate'], Notimerica.com, 8 November 2017 In 2015, he allegedly received 1 million dollars in bribes on the Copa América 2015 deals.{{in lang|es}}
[https://www.infobae.com/america/deportes/2017/11/20/el-soborno-musical-que-recibio-juan-angel-napout-ex-presidente-de-la-conmebol-por-parte-de-la-empresa-full-play/ El soborno musical que recibió Juan Ángel Napout, ex presidente de la Conmebol, por parte de la empresa Full Play], Infobae.com, 20 November 2017
In September 2019, FIFA banned Napout for life.{{Cite web |title=FIFA bans jailed soccer official Napout for life for bribery |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2019/09/12/fifa-bans-jailed-soccer-official-napout-for-life-for-bribery/40138013/ |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2019-09-12 |title=Ex-Paraguay FA boss banned for life by FIFA |url=https://www.espn.com.au/football/paraguay/story/3941211/ex-paraguay-fa-boss-banned-for-life-by-fifa |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=ESPN.com}}
In popular culture
Agustín Moya portrayed Napout in the 2020 Amazon Prime Video original series El Presidente.
References
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{{CONMEBOL Presidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napout, Juan Angel}}
Category:Paraguayan businesspeople
Category:Presidents of CONMEBOL
Category:Association football executives