Conducted for three years by the National Public Prosecutor's Office (PNF), the investigation into the conditions for the award of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was recently entrusted to an examining magistrate, said Monday, December 9, the parquet floor to AFP.
Judicial information entrusted to a Paris judge was opened notably for "active and passive bribery", said the prosecution, confirming information from Mediapart.
>> To read also: Michel Platini denies accusations of corruption
This decision comes almost six months after the hearing of Michel Platini under the regime of custody. The former French football star, who was vice-president of FIFA and UEFA president at the time of the award of the Mondial-2022, was questioned about the reasons for his vote in favor of Qatar on December 2, 2010.
"A diplomatic arrangement"
The World-2022 was then attributed to the surprise of the wealthy gas emirate, winner in the last round against the United States, in a poll organized by FIFA. The designation of Qatar, where scorching temperatures in summer make it difficult or impossible to practice football, was controversial. In October 2015, former FIFA President Sepp Blatter questioned the role of France.
According to its version, "a diplomatic arrangement" existed for the World Cup to take place in Russia in 2018 and in 2022 in the United States. But the plan failed because of "the interference of the government of Mr. Sarkozy" which would have resulted, according to the Swiss, a flip-flop of Michel Platini, president of UEFA.
These suspicions convinced the PNF to open a preliminary investigation in 2016 for "private corruption", "criminal conspiracy", "influence peddling and trading in influence".
A meeting at the Élysée
French justice is particularly interested in a meeting at the Elysee Palace on November 23, 2010, attended by President Nicolas Sarkozy, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani - then Crown Prince of Qatar, became Emir in 2013 - and Michel Platini. His supposed goal: to make sure that Platini would vote for the emirate. A "tissue of lies" had outraged the former number 10 of the Blues.
In addition to Michel Platini, two other people were interviewed by the investigators in the spring of 2019: former Sarkozy's former sports adviser, Sophie Dion, in custody, and former secretary general of the Élysée Claude Guéant, questioned in free audition.
During his interrogation, Claude Guéant assured that there was "to his knowledge elements that can be described as susceptible of corruption," according to his lawyer, Philippe Bouchez el Ghozi.
With AFP
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