SANTIAGO, Chile — CONMEBOL needs "total and absolute change," president Juan Angel Napout said on Saturday after it became engulfed in the FIFA corruption scandal.
Napout had been silent since the scandal broke a month ago, but in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, he said soccer’s South American governing body was carrying out audits and was willing to collaborate with the ongoing investigation by U.S. and Swiss authorities.
"We’re carrying out audits, we’re completely and absolutely changing the system. We’re supporting our incomes and expenses," Napout told the AP at a luxury hotel in Santiago on his way to the Copa America final.
"Several consulting firms were hired, attorney firms. We’re analyzing hiring marketing firms. Evidently, we need a total and absolute change, and we’re open to change, we’re open to improving."
The U.S. Justice Department has indicted 14 soccer officials and businessmen on charges of bribery, racketeering, and money laundering. Among them are two former CONMEBOL presidents, who are fighting extradition to the U.S.
Napout arrived in the Chilean capital hours before the final between Chile and Argentina, and was going to hand the trophy to the champion. He broke protocol and missed the opening match between Chile and Ecuador on June 11.
His absence from the Copa America was questioned for weeks. But Napout said he had been busy fixing CONMEBOL’s problems at the headquarters in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Paraguay’s president recently signed a law repealing the immunity that CONMEBOL’s headquarters enjoyed for nearly two decades. Napout said he supports the action by President Horacio Cartes, which is part of the fallout from the U.S. investigation into FIFA.
"We totally support it. The decision by Cartes is excellent, a really wonderful decision," Napout said.
Among those indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice, was Nicolas Leoz, the former CONMEBOL president who lobbied Paraguay’s legislators for the 1997 law which made the headquarters exempt from legal intervention. The immunity included protection from the kind of raids that happened in May at FIFA and CONCACAF headquarters in Switzerland and Miami.
Last week, CONMEBOL treasurer Carlos Chavez told the AP it may be forced to use a $10 million reserve fund to pay prizes and expenses in the Copa America due to a cash-flow problem created by the FIFA scandal.
Chavez said Datisa, the company which owns the rights to the tournament, paid only $35 million of $80 million owed to CONMEBOL. He said Datisa’s bank accounts are frozen because of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into corruption.
Napout declined to answer whether CONMEBOL has enough funds to pay the Copa America prize money for the final stages, but said it "has hired firms to help us make sure that everything is clear, transparent and first-rate."