Former FIFA executive Linsi added to corruption probe

Linsi was FIFA President Sepp Blatter's right hand man Keystone

Swiss prosecutors have added former FIFA Secretary General, Urs Linsi, to their criminal investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Investigators searched the Swiss citizen’s home on November 23.

Last year, the Swiss Attorney General opened a probe against four members of the German World Cup organising committee,External link including football legend Franz Beckenbauer. The allegations ranged from fraud to money laundering, criminal mismanagement and misappropriation.

The Attorney General’s office on Wednesday confirmed media reports, including the investigative website Inside Paradeplatz, that Linsi was also in the frame. A written statement also confirmed that Linsi’s home in Switzerland had been raided.

“The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland confirms that on 23 November 2016 it conducted house searches with the support of the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) at various locations in the German-speaking part of Switzerland,” it said in a written statement.

“The measures were carried out as part of the investigations relating to a payment of EUR 6.7 million made in April 2005 by the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball-Bund, DFB) to Robert Louis-Dreyfus.”

“A further suspect is Urs Linsi, who at the time was the General Secretary of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The measures carried out on 23 November 2016 relate to Urs Linsi,” it added.

Linsi served as President Sepp Blatter’s number two as FIFA Secretary General from 2002 to 2007.

FIFA has launched its own investigation into the award of the 2006 World Cup to Germany. A report from law firm Freshfields, commissioned by the German Football Federation, said it could find no firm evidence of bribes, but could not rule them out either.