Agencies
Zurich, May 27
Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has opened criminal proceedings relating to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, with 10 people set to be questioned regarding criminal mismanagement and money laundering during the bid process which saw the finals awarded to Russia and Qatar.
Electronic data and documents from Fifa IT systems have been handed over to the OAG as part of what the Swiss authority has called a "collection of evidence on co-operative basis", while relevant bank documents have already been seized regarding potential illegal activities ahead of the December 2010 votes.
An OAG statement explained:
"In the Swiss criminal proceedings, opened by the OAG on March 10, 2015, it is suspected that irregularities occurred in the allocation of the Fifa World Cups of 2018 and 2022."The corresponding unjust enrichment is suspected to have taken place at least partly in Switzerland. Furthermore, the head office of the damaged party, Fifa, is in Switzerland. For these reasons, investigations are being carried out on the suspicion of criminal mismanagement (Article 158 under 1, Section 3 Swiss Criminal Code / SCC).
"There are also suspicions of money laundering through Swiss bank accounts (Article 305bis, SCC). Subsequently to today's seizure of files, the OAG and the Swiss Federal Criminal Police will be questioning 10 persons who took part in voting on the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups as members of the Executive Committee in 2010.
"These persons should be questioned as persons providing information."
This investigation is separate from the US Attorney's Office probe into criminal activity within Fifa which led to the arrest of seven senior officials in Zurich on Wednesday, with the Swiss Federal Office of Justice having carried out a swoop on a hotel housing Fifa's top brass ahead of Friday's Congress.
