Swiss authorities open criminal investigation against Sepp Blatter
The money trail has arrived at FIFA's No. 1.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) opened criminal proceedings against FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Friday. He's being investigated "on suspicion of criminal mismanagement as well as - alternatively - on suspicion of misappropriation."
From the OAG's press release:
... the OAG suspects that on 12 September 2005 Mr. Joseph Blatter has signed a contract with the Caribbean Football Union (with Jack Warner as the President at this time); this contract was unfavorable for FIFA. On the other hand, there is as suspicion that, in the implementation of this agreement, Joseph Blatter also violated his fiduciary duties and acted against the interest of FIFA and/or FIFA Marketing & TV AG.
Additionally, Mr. Joseph Blatter is suspected of a disloyal payment of CHF 2 Mio. to Michel Platini, President of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), at the expense of FIFA, which was allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002 ; this payment was executed in February 2011.
OAG representatives interrogated Blatter on Friday following a meeting held by the FIFA Executive Committee and conducted a house search at FIFA headquarters with the support of the federal criminal police, during which Blatter's office was searched and data was seized. UEFA president and vice president of the committee Michel Platini was also asked to provide information.
Related: UEFA's Michel Platini implicated in criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter
The criminal proceedings were confirmed after FIFA cancelled a news conference where Blatter was due to face the media.
FIFA published a statement of its own following the OAG's announcement, attesting to its full cooperation with Swiss investigators:
Since 27 May 2015, FIFA has been cooperating with the Office of the Swiss Attorney General (OAG) and has complied with all requests for documents, data and other information. We will continue this level of cooperation throughout the investigation.
Today, at the Home of FIFA, representatives from the Office of the Swiss Attorney General conducted interviews and gathered documents pursuant to its investigation. FIFA facilitated these interviews as part of our ongoing cooperation.
We will have no further comment on the matter as it is an active investigation.
Richard Cullen, a lawyer at the firm representing Blatter, dismissed the suggestion that his client committed criminal mismanagement.
"Mr. Blatter is cooperating and we're confident that when the Swiss authorities have a chance to review the documents and the evidence they will see that the contract was properly prepared and negotiated by the appropriate staff members of FIFA who were routinely responsible for such contracts," Cullen said, according to the New York Times.
"Certainly no mismanagement occurred."
Swiss broadcasting company Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) presented the following image of the supposed contract between FIFA and the Caribbean Football Union in its story on the investigation.
(Courtesy: SRF)
According to The Telegraph's translation, SRF identifies Warner as the beneficiary of the contract, and it's called the "first concrete evidence" pertaining to Blatter's involvement in something related to the corruption scandal.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, leading a separate investigation into the FIFA corruption scandal, said in mid-September that new arrests and charges against "individuals and entities" could be expected in the criminal case, almost certainly stemming from the FBI's examination of FIFA.
Related: U.S. attorney general announces fresh charges, arrests anticipated in FIFA corruption scandal
Since Lynch's announcement, Jerome Valcke - FIFA's secretary general and Blatter's right-hand man since 2007 - was released from his duties immediately and indefinitely amid accusations he was involved in a scheme to profit from selling 2014 World Cup tickets above face value. Swiss prosecutors gained access to Valcke's emails on Thursday.
If Blatter resigns, Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football and member of FIFA's Executive Committee, would reportedly take over in the interim. The governing body is set to elect a new president Feb. 26.