"Incitement to malpractice": prosecutors accused PSG president Al-Helaifi of corruption

The Swiss Prosecutor General's Office (OAG) has charged Nasser Al-Helaifi, President of the French PSG and member of the Executive Committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), with corruption in the sale of television broadcasts for the World Cups and Confederations Cups from 2018 to 2030. In addition to the functionary, the former Secretary General of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Jerome Valke, as well as a businessman whose name is not called, appear in the case.

“The Swiss Attorney General has charged Valka with taking bribes, several cases of abuse of power under aggravating circumstances and falsification of documents. The facts cited in the indictment are no longer regarded as fraud. Al-Helaifi and the third accused are charged with inciting Walke to abuse his office under aggravated circumstances. The third defendant is also accused of bribery, ”the OAG statement said.

It is assumed that Valke used his position to secure the rights to show tournaments in Greece and Italy owned by Al-Helaifi BeIN Media Group. As a reward from the remaining defendants in the case, he received cash payments in the amount of € 1.25 million, as well as an exclusive opportunity to use the villa of the PSG president on the Italian island of Sardinia for free.

At the time of the alleged crime, Valke was still the FIFA Secretary General, but did not report incitement. At the same time, he was charged with receiving a bribe from Al-Helaifi in the form of an expensive watch.

In addition, FIFA withdrew the claim against the three accused of alleged bribery of individuals by transferring media rights to cover the world championships of 2026 and 2030. A month ago, the organization entered into a settlement agreement with a Qatari businessman.

Al-Khelaifi completely denied the allegations against him and expressed confidence that the court would recognize the prosecutor’s charges as unfounded.

“Despite the fact that during the legal process I collaborated with all relevant authorities, the three-year investigation was accompanied by constant leaks, misinformation and, apparently, a relentless desire to tarnish my reputation in the media with absolute disregard for facts and such a thing as a proper procedure. In this regard, I turned to the appropriate Swiss authorities with a request to start a criminal investigation regarding the circumstances of the investigation, ”journalist Rob Harris quotes Al-Helaifi.

The first allegations against Al-Helaifi and Valke appeared in October 2017. The Swiss prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the illegal transfer of broadcast rights, searched the property of the ex-FIFA secretary general, and questioned the suspects. Even then, the Qatari functionary declared his innocence and said that he had nothing to hide.

In March last year, The Sunday Times published a contract under which the football authorities represented by Walcke and ex-president of the organization Joseph Blatter transferred media rights to Al Jazeer, which controls beIN Media Group. The agreement worth $ 300 million extended to all competitions under the auspices of FIFA from 2015 to 2022. In addition, it included a clause that the organization would receive an additional $ 100 million in the event that Qatar would receive the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

Earlier, the media released a correspondence between Al-Helaifi and Valke, which proved that there was some kind of financial agreement between them. In particular, the FIFA Secretary General asked the PSG president to pay the bills for the work being done in a villa in Italy.

And the French prosecutor’s office accused Al-Helaifi of giving a bribe in determining the location of the World Athletics Championships. According to the authorities, the businessman transferred $ 3.5 million to the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Lamin Diak so that this right would be granted to Qatari Doha.

Valke resigned as FIFA Secretary General in January 2016 as a result of a corruption scandal. In September 2015, the ethics committee temporarily removed him from office due to a suspicion of the illegal transfer of rights to host the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as well as speculation on tickets for the World Cup in Brazil, as a result of which he earned € 2 million. After that As his guilt was proved, he was suspended for 12 years from any activity related to football.