Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has issued a complaint of criminal mismanagement against its former president, Mr Sepp Blatter.
The world football’s governing body said on Tuesday it suspected criminal mismanagement over the finances of its loss-making football museum in Zurich, Switzerland.
The complaint has been sent to the Zurich prosecutor and it relates to the involvement of Mr Blatter and other former officials at the world governing body in the FIFA museum project.
According to a statement from FIFA, “Following a detailed review of historic facts and circumstances concerning the construction and on-going operational costs of the FIFA Museum, FIFA has become aware of many serious irregularities regarding this project, which raise strong suspicions of criminal misconduct on the part of various different officials and companies associated with the matter.
“As a result, FIFA is now duty-bound to refer the matter to the Zurich prosecutor’s office for further investigation and, if necessary, prosecution.
“The criminal complaint filed by FIFA is directed against various members of the former FIFA management, including former president Joseph Blatter, as well as further unknown potential suspects. It is suspected that these individuals may have been involved in various acts of criminal mismanagement, and possibly other related offences.”
The FIFA World Football Museum opened in 2016 after $140 million of football money was spent refurbishing the 1970s office building to also include 34 rental apartments.
Speaking on the allegation, the deputy secretary-general of FIFA, Mr Alasdair Bell, said: “Given the massive costs associated with this museum, as well as the general way of working of the previous FIFA management, a forensic audit was conducted in order to find out what really happened here.
“That audit revealed a wide range of suspicious circumstances and management failures, some of which may be criminal in nature and which therefore need to be properly investigated by the relevant authorities.
“We came to the conclusion that we had no choice other than to report the case to state prosecutors, not least because the current management of FIFA also has fiduciary responsibilities to the organisation and we intend to live up to them, even if those before us dismally failed to.”
The documents allege that the project was “deliberately mismanaged” and points to the decision to put 140 million Swiss francs (over £117 million) into a building FIFA did not own, to lock FIFA into a rental agreement with the building’s owner – insurance firm Swiss Life – until at least 2045, costing it a further 360 million Swiss francs (over £300 million), and the failure to consider other any other suitable properties.
The documents state that the former head of FIFA repeatedly misled different FIFA bodies as to the cost and viability of the project, including the existence of alternative sites.
It also alleged grave conflicts of interest and “suspected nepotism” in relation to the project.
Mr Blatter is already under criminal investigation in Switzerland over a separate matter – an alleged undue payment to the former president of the Union of European Football Association (UEFA), Mr Michel Platini.
He was issued an initial eight-year ban from football by FIFA’s ethics committee in relation to that payment, reduced to six years on appeal.
That sanction was later upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The new FIFA complaint comes at a time when its current president, Mr Gianni Infantino, is also under investigation by a Swiss special federal prosecutor.
