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BSP-01
FBL-FIFA-CORRUPTION-TRIAL-MEDIA
Valcke and Al-Khelaifi braced for corruption trial verdict
LAUSANNE, Oct 30, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Former FIFA number two Jerome Valcke and
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi will discover Friday if
their roles in the “Fifagate” scandal, regarding alleged corruption in the
allocation of World Cup TV rights, are damning enough to land them a stretch
behind bars.
That is when the Swiss Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona, which
conducted 10 days of hearings in September, will announce the verdict on the
two men, along with Greek businessman Dinos Deris.
Prosecutors have called for a jail term of three years for Valcke, a 28-
month sentence for Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of beIN Media, and 30
months for Deris — with partial suspension in all three cases.
It will be the first judgement handed down in Switzerland, the seat of most
international sports organisations, in the 20 or so proceedings opened in the
last five years involving FIFA. Two former Latin American football leaders
have been jailed in the United States.
Valcke, the former right-hand man of disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter,
was on trial on two charges related to his quest for money to maintain what
Federal Prosecutor Joel Pahud called a “spendthrift” lifestyle.
Al-Khelaifi is included in the first charge.
The public prosecutor’s office said Valcke sought the Qatari’s help in the
summer of 2003 to buy a luxury villa in Sardinia, at a time when beIN, a
Qatari-owned broadcaster, was negotiating the extension of its media rights
in North Africa and the Middle East for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.
The prosecutor said Al-Khelaifi acquired the house for five million euros
($5.85 million), via a company that was transferred almost immediately to the
brother of one of his close collaborators, before it was made available to
Valcke. – ‘Corrupt agreement’ –
The two men denied a “corrupt agreement” and said the deal was a “private”
arrangement, unrelated to the contract concluded by beIN with FIFA in April
2014.
The prosecution said Valcke committed to “do what was in his power” to
ensure beIN would win the contract and should have declared the Villa Bianca
deal to his employers. They said he had been pressured by Al-Khaleifa to
damage FIFA’s interests illegally.
The defence argued that the trial was “muddied” by the revelation of
informal meetings between former Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber and
current FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Lauber resigned from his post in July and both men are under investigation
for suspected collusion.
Al-Khelaifi’s lawyers have told AFP that the charges against their client
are “clearly artificial”.
The Swiss prosecutors had to drop a charge of corruption because of an out-
of-court settlement in January between Al-Khelaifi and FIFA, which then
withdrew its complaint against him.
Valcke also stands accused of exploiting his position at FIFA to influence
the awarding of media rights for Italy and Greece for World Cups and other
tournaments between 2018 and 2030 “to favour media partners that he
preferred” in exchange for payments from Deris.
Pahud accepted in court, however, that the 59-year-old Frenchman had
already paid a heavy price over the past five years.
Valcke, a former journalist who lives in Barcelona, “has suffered
professionally in recent years. He has not found a job after FIFA,” Pahud
said.
Valcke told the court that he had been unable to open a bank account in
Europe since 2017, had to sell his yacht and jewellery and had his Porsche
Cayenne stolen.
FIFA is claiming “between 1.4 and 2.3 million euros” from Valcke for having
benefitted from Villa Bianca for 18 months. It is also looking for 1.25
million euros in relation to the case between Valcke and Deris.
The court is due to deliver its verdict on Friday at 13h30 local time
(1230GMT).
BSS/AFP/GMR/0933 hrs