Scandal-hit Attorney General to quit next month 

Michael Lauber has been Switzerland's Attorney General since 2012 but he has become a controversial figure. Keystone / Anthony Anex

Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber is to step down on August 31, says a spokesman for his office. 

Lauber, who is facing impeachment proceedings over his handling of a FIFA corruption probe, offered to resign on July 24 after a federal court said he had committed breaches of his official duties and lied to investigators on the FIFA case.  

He denied lying but said in a personal statementExternal link that he was concerned about the reputation of his office. “If they [the court] do not believe me as attorney general, then the Office of the Attorney General will be harmed,” he said. 

As of September 1, Office of the Attorney General (OAG) business will be led by Lauber’s two deputies, the OAG spokesman told news agency Keystone-SDA on Wednesday. Operational activities and criminal investigations would continue as normal, he stressed. 

Lauber has been Switzerland’s Attorney General since 2012. Parliament re-elected him last September despite controversy over the FIFA investigation and recommendations by a parliamentary committee not to re-elect him. 

The embattled Attorney General’s resignation has brought some calls for a major overhaul of the country’s prosecutorial system. Swiss parliamentarians are now considering whether sweeping reforms are needed for the Office of the Attorney General.