FIFA urges Swiss authorities to press ahead with Blatter investigation
The international football federation has asked the Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) to continue an investigation into its former president Sepp Blatter, after the OAG decided to abandon part of the proceedings last month.
In a statement sent to news agency Keystone-SDA, FIFA confirmed reports that it had filed motions urging Swiss authorities to carry on the investigation.
The OAG announced in April it would not file charges against the 84-year-old Blatter for granting television rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) for a sum deemed to be below market price. It is one of two criminal cases that were opened against Blatter in 2015 for “suspicion of unfair management and breach of trust.”
A report obtained by news agency AFP last week revealed that the Swiss Federal Office of Police believed the allegations against Blatter “were well-founded”. The former president is suspected of having given CFU’s Jack Warner preferential treatment in exchange for votes.
As a result of the “inaction of Mr. Blatter against the CFU or Mr. Warner, FIFA suffered losses reaching $3.78 million”, the investigators concluded.
“FIFA is considering all legal options to ensure that those concerned are held responsible,” read the statement from the football governing body, which added it would “continue to cooperate with all the prosecution authorities in various countries, including those in Switzerland.”
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