It is a trial under high tension which will open, Monday, September 14, in Switzerland. Until September 25, three men must appear before the Federal Criminal Court (TPF) of Bellinzona: the Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of Paris-Saint-Germain and boss of the BeIN Media group, the French Jérôme Valcke, ex-secretary general of the International Football Federation (FIFA), and Greek businessman Dinos Deris.
Under criminal proceedings in Switzerland since 2017, Mr. Al-Khelaïfi is prosecuted for “aggravated unfair management” and faces five years in prison. As for the ex-number 2 of FIFA, he must answer charges of “repeated aggravated unfair management”, “forgery in titles” and “repeated passive corruption. “Mr. Deris appears, him, in particular for” repeated active corruption. “
The Attorney General of the Swiss Confederation (MPC) accuses Mr. Valcke, in his capacity as Secretary General of FIFA, of having received from Mr. Al-Khelaïfi benefits of a value between 1, 4 and 2.3 million euros, in particular ” the exclusive use of Villa Bianca », In Sardinia, from March 2014 to September 2015.
For investigators, he did “ in return »Of the attribution to the Qatari groups Al-Jazeera and BeIn Media of media rights in the Middle East and North Africa for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups. The MPC criticizes Mr. Valcke for not having declared these advantages to FIFA and causing him financial damage.
MM. Al-Khelaïfi and Valcke benefited from a partial filing of the proceedings against them for “corruption” after FIFA informed the MPC at the end of January that they had found a “Amicable agreement” – whose terms remain secret – with the president of PSG and withdrew his complaint filed in December 2016.
Swiss justice also accuses Mr. Valcke of having received, via a company of which he was the sole beneficial owner, 1.25 million euros from Mr. Deris, in the context of the allocation of television rights in Italy. and in Greece.
Health context
The health context was invited in this first trial of “Fifagate” in the Confederation (the trial for the award of the 2006 World Cup to Germany had not taken place in April due to the Covid-19 and the delays in prescription). If Mr. Valcke, domiciled in Barcelona, observed a period of quarantine in Switzerland and will be present at the hearing, just like Mr. Al-Khelaïfi, Mr. Deris, him, will not go to Bellinzona.
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