Justice catches up to the president of Paris Saint-Germain Nasser al-Khelaïfi and the former number two of Fifa, Jérôme Valcke. They have been charged in Switzerland in the investigation into the granting of broadcasting rights to several editions of the Football World Cup and the Confederations Cup, the office of the Swiss Attorney General said in a statement.

Jérôme Valcke, former secretary general of Fifa (from 2007 to 2015), has been charged with corruption as well as on several counts, including criminal offenses of mismanagement and falsification of documents, said the Swiss federal prosecutor's office.

Nasser al Khelaïfi, who also heads the Qatari media group BeIn Sports, as well as a third person, a businessman whose name has not been revealed, have been charged with inciting Jérôme Valcke to commit these crimes. criminal offenses.

Villa in Sardinia

According to the prosecutor's office, Jérôme Valcke has, between 2013 and 2015, used his influence as secretary general of Fifa "to influence in favor of media partners of his preference the processes of allocation of media rights, for Italy and Greece, from different Football World Cups and FIFA Confederations Cups from 2018 to 2030 ".

The investigation revealed that he obtained improper advantages from the two co-defendants, such as the reimbursement of a deposit of approximately 500,000 euros which he had paid to third parties for a villa in Sardinia, this after the purchase of the villa by Nasser al-Khelaïfi, via a company.

Jérôme Valcke then obtained from the president of PSG the exclusive enjoyment right for the villa for a period of 18 months in total - until his suspension from Fifa in 2015 - without having paid a rent worth estimated between around 900,000 and 1.8 million euros.

The former number 2 of FIFA, also suspended 10 years by the apex organization of world football for other acts of corruption, also received from the third man, three payments with a total value of 1.25 million d euros to his company Sportunited Sarl.

Swiss justice accuses him of having "enriched himself illegally" and of not having announced the "advantages" received at Fifa, "thus behaving in a manner contrary to his duties in the context of his activity as secretary general" organisation.

With AFP and Reuters

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