By Andrew Warshaw
March 9 – The Swiss criminal investigation into Sepp Blatter’s activities has taken a dramatic turn with the news that the offices of the French football federation in Paris have been raided at the request of the Swiss authorities.
The exact link between French officials and alleged misconduct by Blatter, deposed as FIFA president last month after almost 18 years in charge, has not been revealed but documents in connection with the infamous SFr2 million payment made to fallen UEFA president Michel Platini and authorised by Blatter were seized in the raid.
“In close coordination with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), the French Financial Prosecution Office proceeded yesterday to a search of the offices of the French Football Federation (FFF) in Paris,” the Swiss federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding it was “in connection with the criminal proceedings against Mr. Joseph Blatter.”
The investigation against Blatter for alleged criminal mismanagement during his time as FIFA president opened in September and centred on the so-called “disloyal” payment. Both Blatter and Platini were subsequently banned by FIFA’s ethics committee for eight years, recently reduced on appeal to six.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is now considering a final appeal from Platini, with a verdict expected next month. The Frenchman is keen to clear his name before the summer’s European Championship finals in his homeland. Both he and Blatter insist the payment honoured a verbal agreement made in 1998 for work carried out by the Frenchman when he was a technical advisor for Blatter but the latest revelation is bound to heap further suspicion on both men. “Documents were seized in connection with the suspected payment,” the Swiss statement confirmed.
The payment emerged during a wider investigation led by Switzerland’s attorney general, Michael Lauber, that includes suspected money laundering in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests. The case specifically against Blatter involves alleged misappropriation of FIFA funds, notably a deal for World Cup broadcast rights for the Caribbean to be sold at less than their true value.
There has been no comment so far from the French Football Federation to the Swiss-requested search but reports suggest the raid on FFF headquarters could have been connected to the fact that Platini apparently maintained an office there. He is considered by the Swiss authorities as being ‘between a witness and accused’ though no criminal proceedings have been opened against him.
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