Swiss prosecutors charge Al-Khelaifi in FIFA bribery case
The president of the Paris SaintGermain soccer club was indicted Thursday as part of a five-year bribery and corruption investigation linked to FIFA.
Nasser al-Khelaifi, a Qatari who also runs the Doha-based broadcaster BeIN Media Group, was charged in Switzerland in connection to a bribery investigation linked to World Cup television rights. Swiss federal prosecutors also charged former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke with bribery. A unidentified third person was also charged.
Al-Khelaifi was implicated for allowing Valcke to use a luxury villa on the Italian island of Sardinia rent free in 2014 and 2015. At the time, Valcke had some influence over FIFA broadcast deals, including an extension of BeIN's Middle East rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.
The office of Switzerland's attorney general filed an indictment charging Al-Khelaifi with inciting Valcke "to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement."
It is not clear if Al-Khelaifi will be arrested, or what kind of sentence or fine he could face.
As president of Qatari-owned PSG, Al-Khelaifi is among the most significant officials in modern soccer targeted in sprawling FIFA investigations by American and Swiss federal agencies. A close friend of the ruling Emir in Qatar, Al-Khelaifi has run French champion PSG for eight years while overseeing the purchase of star players Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. His influence in European soccer rose when he joined the UEFA executive committee last year.
Despite Thursday's indictment, Al-Khelaifi no longer faces an accusation of bribery in a criminal proceeding opened three years ago. FIFA reached an "unspecified 'amicable agreement'" with Al-Khelaifi last month, prosecutors said, to drop its criminal complaint relating to the 20262030 World Cup deal with BeIN.
BeIN has long said it paid full market value for World Cup TV rights bought without an open tender process.
FIFA declined to comment on the specifics of the confidential deal with Al-Khelaifi.
Swiss prosecutors accused AlKhelaifi of arranging for Valcke to use a villa for 18 months in upscale Porto Cervo without paying rent valued at up to 1.8 million euros ($1.94 million). Valcke was charged with accepting bribes, "several counts of aggravated criminal mismanagement … and falsification of documents."
For the first time in their investigation, Swiss prosecutors also revealed they believe Valcke got kickbacks totaling 1.25 million euros ($1.35 million) to steer World Cup rights toward favored broadcasters in Italy and Greece.
The third person indicted, who has never been identified in the proceedings since 2017, was charged with bribery over those kickback payments. The person was also charged with inciting Valcke, FIFA's top administrator from 2007-15, to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement.
It is unclear why the third accused person, described by prosecutors as "a businessman in the sports rights sector," has not been identified.