Swiss launches criminal case against Fifa boss Infantino

ZURICH • Criminal proceedings have been opened against Fifa president Gianni Infantino by a special prosecutor looking into dealings between the head of the global football body and Swiss Attorney-General Michael Lauber, Swiss authorities said yesterday.

A special prosecutor appointed last month to review complaints against the two men and others had found indications of criminal conduct related to their meetings, according to the watchdog overseeing the Attorney-General's Office.

"This concerns abuse of public office, breach of official secrecy, assisting offenders and incitement to these acts," the AB-BA watchdog said in a statement.

Infantino, 50, and Lauber, 54, are said to have held a series of secret meetings in 2016 and 2017. Both of them have denied wrongdoing.

Fifa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It said last week in a statement that the meetings were legitimate and legal.

Infantino was elected in 2016 to replace disgraced Sepp Blatter, who was also the subject of criminal proceedings in 2015.

Yet the Swiss-Italian lawyer could be the second Fifa president to be banned from the sport after Blatter, who is currently serving a six-year ban from all football-related activities.

The investigations against Swiss Blatter, who is suspected of criminal mismanagement, are still ongoing and he has not been charged. He denies wrongdoing.

On being elected, Infantino promised to clean up Fifa and to put the focus back on football.

Fifa was embroiled in the worst corruption scandal in its history in 2015 which led to several officials being charged in the United States with related offences.

Lauber was in charge of Switzerland's probe into the scandal that erupted when Swiss police in May that year raided a luxury hotel in Zurich before dawn.

Lauber last week offered to resign after a court concluded he had covered up a meeting with Infantino and lied to supervisors while his office investigated corruption surrounding football's governing body. A federal court also said he had committed several breaches of his official duties.

Lauber officially tendered his resignation on Tuesday, his office said, with his last day of active duty set for Aug 31.

The AB-BA watchdog said special prosecutor Stefan Keller had now opened proceedings against both Infantino and a regional public prosecutor who was involved in the meetings, and was seeking parliamentary approval to have Lauber's immunity from prosecution waived.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE