French launch probe into Qatar, Russia World Cup bids
PARIS, April 29, 2017
French prosecutors are investigating the bidding process behind the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, the latest international investigation to target Fifa, the scandal-hit organisation that governs world football, said a report.
France’s national public prosecutor’s office has been examining the bids for the tournaments, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar, according to Financial Times.
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has also been questioned over the matter, said the report citing sources.
A person close to the prosecutor’s office said that it had opened a preliminary investigation last year into “bribery”, “criminal association” and “influence trafficking” relating to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Blatter was questioned on April 20, stated the report.
Fifa’s reputation has suffered over the past two years after becoming the subject of investigations by US and Swiss authorities into alleged criminal misconduct and bribery, leading to dozens of arrests of former officials.
The activity is alleged to have occurred under the tenure of Blatter, who resigned as president in 2015 and has been replaced by Gianni Infantino.
Under new leadership, Fifa has sought to portray itself as the victim of corruption by its officials. It has offered to co-operate fully with official investigations on both sides of the Atlantic while enacting reforms to prevent any future misdeeds.
Earlier this month, Fifa handed Swiss public prosecutors a mass of files from its own internal investigation as the body attempts to show it is cleaning up its past.
