Switzerland Indicts Ex-Soccer Officials for $2 Million Fraud Scheme

Swiss prosecutors allege that Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA, illegally paid UEFA president Michel Platini over $2 million in fraudulent consultancy fees (Wikimedia Commons).

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General charged former FIFA president Joseph “Sepp” Blatter and former Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) president Michel Platini with fraud on November 2. Prosecutors accuse Blatter of transferring over $2 million of FIFA funds to Platini after he had already received payment for his work. The charges are the result of an investigation that began in September 2015, following a corruption scandal that removed both presidents from their positions.

The Swiss indictment alleges that Platini agreed to work for Blatter for Chfr 300,000 Swiss Francs per year between 1998 and 2002, and that FIFA paid Platini that amount at the time. In 2011, after Platini became the president of UEFA, he allegedly asked Blatter for $2 million in back pay from that term, which Blatter promptly authorized. The Office of the Attorney General claims that this payment had no legal basis and illegally benefitted Platini at FIFA’s expense. The headquarters of both FIFA and UEFA are located in Switzerland.

Blatter responded to the charges by claiming that the two men had always had an oral agreement for the amount paid in 2011, and that other FIFA officials had authorized it. The ex-FIFA president stated, “I view the proceedings at the federal criminal court with optimism — and hope that, with this, this story will come to an end and all the facts will be worked through cleanly.” Platini claimed that he did not even know about the charges until he read news reports about them, and told reporters,“These methods are an extension of the prosecutor’s relentlessness to unduly implicate me in a case in which my entire good faith has been recognized. I fully challenge these unfounded and unfair accusations.” If convicted, Blatter and Platini could face years in prison and substantial fines, in addition to Platini repaying the $2 million sum to FIFA.

The 2015 corruption scandal that initiated the Swiss investigation rocked the world of soccer, resulting in charges against over 30 football administrators in the United States alone. At the time, FIFA decided to ban Blatter and Platini from holding any offices in international soccer organizations for eight years. Among the accusations were suggestions that the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar had been corrupt. American and Swiss investigations uncovered bribes to dozens of leaders within FIFA and its regional subsidiaries, but did not implicate Blatter or Platini directly. After thousands of migrant workers died in Qatar as it prepared for the World Cup, human rights groups questioned whether the Gulf country was truly equipped to host such a large event. Now, with the tournament less than a year away, FIFA will have to contend with both its internal corruption and the logistical challenge of running matches that billions of fans around the world will view.