PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The move by the United States to seek to extradite Austin Jack Warner, the former FIFA vice president, could spell disaster and even doom for this newly recently formed Independent Liberal Party (ILP), according to a political scientist.

“He is the embodiment of the ILP and there is no one who comes close to the type of stature he holds in that outfit,” Dr Winford James told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

Warner, who was unable to secure his release from prison late Wednesday even after he was granted TT$2.5 million (One TT dollar =US$0.16 cents) bail by Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, was charged with 12 offences related to racketeering, corruption and money laundering allegedly committed in the jurisdiction of the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, dating as far back as 1990.

US law enforcement authorities Wednesday arrested a number of FIFA officials as part of the probe.

Warner, who was not called upon to plead when he appeared in court, is to surrender his travel documents and report to the police twice weekly as part of his bail conditions.

His attorney Fyard Hosein had told the court that Warner, a former Special Reserve Police officer and school teacher, was now a parliamentarian of good character.

James told CMC that if the extradition, which some experts say could take months to be finalised in the courts here, takes places “then most likely it will be the end of the ILP at least in the short term”.

Warner formed the ILP soon after he quit the coalition People’s Partnership government headed by Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar in 2011 and successfully contested a by-election in the Chaguanas West constituency, the heartland of the ruling coalition.

James said that if the ILP has in place a succession plan “and there is someone in the wings, maybe some redemption could take place.

“But my first response to the extradition is that it is going to effectively kill off the aspirations of the ILP in respect of the 2015 general elections.

“It is also going to kill off support and send support either to the sidelines or to one of the two major parties,” he told CMC.

James said that Prime Minister Persad Bissessar has to be careful how she seeks to exploit the situation facing Warner, a former senior member of her coalition government who acted as prime minister on several occasions.

“Don’t forget Warner was the chairman of the party (United National Congress (UNC) and was part of the government, he played a vital role in the instalment of the People’s Partnership government.

“He was a key member of the cabinet,” James said, adding that there is also the concerns the prime minister would have to deal with “blame by association” after she apparently ignored calls by people to distance Warner from the government given the reports about his FIFA dealings”.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar confirmed that the extradition request had been made and said “it gives me no pleasure, the member is a member of this Honourable House and the matter is now in the hands of law enforcement officials and judicial officials for due process according to the laws of Trinidad and Tobago”.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the corruption by FIFA officials was “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States”.

“It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

“And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organisations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable.”

In addition to the US investigations, international media reports indicate that the Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively.