Doubts over former Fifa boss Sepp Blatter in TV deal
Police file says ex-Fifa boss acted in CFU's interest with below-market rate contract
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Swiss legal chiefs are not prosecuting Sepp Blatter for granting TV rights to the Caribbean Football Union. The 84-year-old, however, is still facing a criminal investigation over a $2.9 million payment to Michel Platini in 2011.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LAUSANNE • A police report obtained by Agence France-Presse on Wednesday night showed that suspicions of impropriety against fallen Fifa boss Sepp Blatter over a controversial television deal "were well-founded" despite Swiss prosecutors dropping the case.
Swiss legal chiefs suspected the 84-year-old of having signed a "contract unfavourable to Fifa" with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), then led by former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, who has since been banned from football for life and charged with corruption by American justice officials.
The deal had granted TV rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups to the CFU for US$600,000 (S$845,500), an amount deemed to be significantly below market price.
"Blatter acted more in Warner's interests than those of Fifa," said one of the documents from the investigation.
"By failing to assert a claim by Fifa against the CFU when he found out about it, Blatter accepted that Warner would therefore illegally enrich himself at the expense of Fifa."
As a result of Blatter's inaction against the CFU or Warner, Fifa suffered damages amounting to US$3.78 million.
However, the Swiss Attorney-General's office confirmed earlier last month that it did not intend to prosecute Blatter for granting TV rights to the CFU.
It means one of the two cases launched against him in 2015, for "suspicion of unfair management and breach of trust", has been dropped.
Blatter, however, still faces a second and far more significant criminal investigation over the controversial payment of two million Swiss francs (S$2.9 million) to Michel Platini, the former president of Uefa, in February 2011.
Contacted by AFP on Wednesday, Blatter, who is serving a six-year ban from football-related activities until October next year over ethics violations, said he did not want to comment.
"This procedure concerning the contract with the CFU was opened at the same time as that concerning the payment to Platini and dates from September 2015," he added.
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$846K
Cost of TV rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups in the deal signed by Fifa and the Caribbean Football Union.
"Since then, I have not been questioned on either case."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
