GENEVA: Criminal proceedings into secret meetings between FIFA boss Gianni Infantino (pix) and former Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber will be dropped, the Tages-Anzeiger daily reported on Friday.
“I confirm this announcement, I am relieved,“ Lauber told German broadcaster SRF.
According to Tages-Anzeiger, the proceedings against Infantino, launched in July 2020 for “incitement to abuse of authority”, “violation of official secrecy” and “obstructing criminal action” in his meetings with Lauber, are about to be shelved.
As a result of the investigation, Lauber was forced to resign in 2020.
The two special prosecutors heading the investigation did not respond to an AFP request for comment on Friday.
“There is no evidence of criminal activity,“ the federal prosecutors wrote in a memo obtained by Tages-Anzeiger.
Lauber was suspected of abuse of authority, violation of official secrecy and favouritism after being accused of holding secret meetings with Infantino between July 2015 and June 2017.
The meetings were held while an investigation was taking place into the controversial decision to award Qatar the hosting rights of the 2022 World Cup.
These meetings, revealed in 2018 by “Football Leaks”, fuelled suspicions of collusion between the prosecutors office and FIFA.
FIFA’s own internal probe closed their investigation into the meetings in August 2020 due to “the obvious absence of evidence concerning any alleged violation of the code of ethics”.
Infantino, who has been FIFA president since 2016, was re-elected for four more years in March. -AFP
