Now, FIFA boss named in Panama Papers

BERLIN: The signature of new FIFA President Gianni Infantino has cropped up in the so-called “Panama Papers” in connection with questionable TV rights sales in South America, the German newspaper behind the mass leaks reported.

Swiss-Italian lawyer Infantino, 46, succeeded the suspended Sepp Blatter in February as the head of FIFA, who are reeling from the arrests of leading officials last year, as well as the clouds over the awardings of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

In his then-post as head of UEFA’s legal department, in 2006 and 2007, Infantino signed TV rights contracts for Champions League and other football tournaments with a letterbox company headed by two men who are now defendants in the FIFA scandal, reported the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

But Infantino denied any wrongdoing. “I am dismayed and will not accept that my integrity is being doubted by certain areas of the media, especially given that UEFA have already disclosed in detail all facts regarding these contracts,” said Infantino.

“From the moment I was made aware of the latest media enquiries on the matter, I immediately contacted UEFA to seek clarity. I did this because I am no longer with UEFA, and it is they who exclusively possess all contractual information relating to this query.

“In the meantime, UEFA have announced that they have been conducting a review of their numerous commercial contracts and have answered extensively all media questions related to these specific contracts.

“As I previously stated, I never personally dealt with Cross Trading nor their owners as the tender process was conducted by Team Marketing on behalf of UEFA.

“I would like to state for the record that neither UEFA nor I have ever been contacted by any authorities in relation to these particular contracts.

“Moreover, as media themselves report, there is no indication whatsoever for any wrongdoings from neither UEFA nor myself in this matter.”

The two men who owned the company Cross Trading are Argentinian TV rights dealers Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who have both been accused in the FIFA scandal by US investigators.

The father and son team are accused in the US of having bribed FIFA and other football officials to be able to cheaply acquire TV rights and then sell them at inflated margins.

In the rights deals signed with Infantino for UEFA, their company had also made huge profits, said the report – buying the rights for a total of US$140,000 (RM550,000) and selling them on for US$440,000 (RM1.7mil).

The report said FIFA, UEFA and Infantino, their former general secretary, had repeatedly denied having ever had any business dealings with Hugo and Mariano Jinkis.

Then, when confronted with the signed contract in late March, UEFA had confirmed to the newspaper that the contract indeed bore Infantino’s signature.