Former officials charged with fraud
$2 million payment from Blatter to Platini at heart of six-year investigation
Former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were charged with fraud and other offenses by Swiss prosecutors on Tuesday after a sixyear investigation into a controversial $2 million payment.
The 85-year-old Blatter and 66year-old Platini now face a trial at federal criminal court in Bellinzona. They could be jailed for several years if found guilty, though Swiss cases often take years to reach a conclusion.
“This payment damaged FIFA’S assets and unlawfully enriched Platini,” Swiss federal prosecutors said in a statement.
The case was opened in September 2015 and ousted Blatter ahead of schedule as FIFA president. It also ended Platini’s campaign to succeed his former mentor.
It centers on Platini’s written request to FIFA in January 2011 to be paid backdated additional salary for working as a presidential adviser in Blatter’s first term, from 1998-2002.
Blatter told FIFA to make the payment within weeks. He was preparing to campaign for re-election in a contest against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, where Platini’s influence with European voters was seen as a key factor.
“The evidence gathered by the (attorney general’s office) has corroborated that this payment to Platini was made without a legal basis,” prosecutors said.
Both Blatter and Platini have long denied wrongdoing and cited a verbal agreement they had made, now over 20 years ago, for the money to be paid.
Blatter has been charged with fraud, mismanagement, misappropriation of FIFA funds and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, forgery and as an accomplice to Blatter’s alleged mismanagement.
Fraud and forgery charges can be punished with jail sentences of up to five years.
“I view the proceedings at the federal criminal court with optimism — and hope that, with this, this story will come to an end and all the facts will
be worked through cleanly,” Blatter said in a statement.
Platini was not placed under formal investigation until last year, and months later the more serious allegation of fraud was included against both men.
The three-time Ballon d’or winner, who was captain of his national team when France won the European Championship in 1984, said Tuesday he was “perfectly confident and calm” about the outcome.
“I fully contest these unfounded and unfair accusations,” Platini said in a statement.
Platini has long said, and Blatter repeated Tuesday, that he declared the payment and paid taxes on it in Switzerland.
Blatter also faces a separate criminal proceeding related to authorizing a $1 million FIFA payment to Trinidad and Tobago in 2010 into the control of then-fifa vice president Jack Warner.