Attorney General to seek re-election despite Football Leaks scandal
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.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
This content was published on
Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
This content was published on
Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
This content was published on
From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
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.