Michel Platini pleads his case Monday before the Swiss courts as part of the procedure opened in 2015 for a suspicious payment of 2 million Swiss francs from the former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.
Accompanied by his lawyer Dominic Nellen, he must be heard by the prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand who, at the beginning of June, extended to the former captain of the Blues the investigation which until then targeted only Sepp Blatter. At the center of attention, a controversial payment in 2011 of 1.8 million euros, without a written contract, to Platini, for an advisory job completed in 2002.
The federal prosecution has thus decided to extend its investigation to Platini, for suspicion of "complicity in unfair management, embezzlement and forgery in titles". Former UEFA boss, the 65-year-old Frenchman now has the status of accused. Blatter will be heard on Tuesday.
For Platini, the file is "closed" as far as he is concerned
Two other former Fifa executives are also targeted: Frenchman Jérôme Valcke, ex-secretary general and German Markus Kattner, ex-financial director, "for suspicion of unfair management," said the MPC.
In June, Michel Platini indicated that the MPC had confirmed in writing in May 2018 to his lawyer that "this file dating from 2015 was closed as far as I am concerned". "I have no reason to believe that prosecutor Hildbrand has another view of things," he added.
The European Court of Human Rights dismisses Michel Platini https://t.co/0tDEasBXZy
- 20 Minutes (@ 20Minutes) March 5, 2020“I repeat, it was an overdue salary for work done by Michel Platini. The sum was validated by the finance committee. It cannot be criminal, ”Blatter recently told AFP.
This suspicious payment earned both Blatter, 84, and Platini a multi-year suspension from all football-related activities, which prevented the former UEFA president from running for the FIFA presidency in 2016. Platini's suspension was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which reduced it to 4 years, then by the Swiss Federal Court and finally by the European Court of Human Rights.
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