Attorney General to seek re-election despite Football Leaks scandal
Attorney General Michael Lauber, whose office is investigating FIFA in a massive corruption probe, says he did nothing wrong to meet with the FIFA boss.
Keystone
Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber says he plans to run for a new four-year mandate in 2019. He said he did nothing wrong in meeting twice in 2016 with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose organization is under investigation by Lauber’s office for corruption.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jc
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is under pressure since so-called “Football LeaksExternal link” revelations of secret meetings between Lauber and FIFA president Infantino, one year after a vast corruption scandal within the world football body led to the resignation of its former president Sepp Blatter.
Lauber said on Wednesday that his two meetings with Infantino in March and April 2016 were needed to clarify issues linked to 25 FIFA investigations being carried out by his office.
Giving more detail about their meetings, Lauber said his office had been contacted by the prosecutor of canton Valais, Rinaldo Arnold, on behalf of FIFA because Infantino, after becoming FIFA boss in February 2016, wanted a meeting with the OAG. Arnold is currently under investigation in relation to his links with Infantino and the Football Leaks allegations.
Among the people accompanying Lauber to the meetings was Olivier Thormann, head of the OAG’s white collar crime unit, who was recently himself investigated for alleged misconduct in relation to the FIFA investigations. Thormann was cleared, but it was then announced he would be leaving the OAG anyway.
The OAG opened a first criminal investigation linked to FIFA in 2015. There are now 25 investigations under way involving 15 countries and a mountain of documentation.
Lauber told the press that he considers the meetings with Infantino to be part of his work, and that he is developing new strategies to bring the cases to conclusion. The OAG’s aim is to produce the first results of the investigations in 2019.
He said he feels justified continuing in his post, which he has held since 2012, and that he intends to run again as Attorney General for 2020-2023.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Zurich: how the world capital of housing shortages is tackling the problem
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Pope was a person full of respect: Swiss president
This content was published on
Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter, who is attending the funeral of Pope Francis, says the pontiff was always full of respect.
Ex-sect member sentenced in Zurich for sexual abuse
This content was published on
Zurich District Court has sentenced a former member of the globally active sect "Children of God" to a partial prison sentence.
SNB chairman does not rule out slowdown in Swiss growth
This content was published on
Martin Schlegel, chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), does not rule out a weakening of the Swiss economy in light of the tariff dispute.
Swiss NGOs abroad to receive 10% less federal funding
This content was published on
In 2025 and 2026, Swiss NGOs will have 10% less federal funding available for international cooperation than in the previous two-year period.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss investigator quits despite being cleared of FIFA crimes
This content was published on
But despite being cleared of criminal wrongdoing, Olivier Thormann will still be sacked as head of the OAG’s white collar crime unit. Thormann had been investigated following a tip-off about alleged misconduct, which was made to his boss Michael Lauber in September. Former Zurich public prosecutor Ulrich Weder had been called in to find out…
Prosecutor to investigate FIFA president’s ties to Valais attorney
This content was published on
The Valais Attorney General’s Office has launched an investigation into ties between a Valais prosecutor and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.