Switzerland Attorney General Michael Lauber today announced that an investigation into the activities of FIFA by the authorities in his country "will include the examination of more than 50 suspicious financial relationships," according to Sam Borden of the N.Y. TIMES. Lauber, the official leading the investigation, said that his office "had received 53 reports involving FIFA from banks concerned about transactions and that his team had 'obtained evidence concerning 104 banking relations.'" He added that it "was possible his office would seek to interview top FIFA officials" such as President Sepp Blatter and Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. Lauber said that Swiss officials "had seized digital evidence amounting to about nine terabytes of data during a sweep of FIFA’s offices in Zurich." Borden notes some of that evidence "was collected in response to a request" from U.S. officials, as the Department of Justice is "conducting a separate investigation." The Swiss inquiry "is a distinct operation and was initially focused on the decisions to hold" the '18 World Cup in Russia and the '22 tournament in Qatar, although Lauber "left open the possibility that his investigation had expanded." Lauber said that he "was not concerned about whether his investigation would uncover improprieties that might lead to a new vote on those hosting rights." Lauber: "I don’t mind if this has some collateral (damage). I don’t care about the timetable of FIFA." He added that there were "no limits to his office’s purview, even though the two World Cup bidding votes were what initially prompted the investigation" (NYTIMES.com, 6/17).
MORE DETAILS: FIFA In London, Oliver Kay notes neither Blatter nor Valcke "is under suspicion." However, Lauber said he "does not exclude" interviewing either man as the investigation continues. Kay notes Lauber was "reluctant to be drawn on how long the investigation will take." He did, however, confirm that his employees "were looking into 'criminal mismanagement and money-laundering' in the controversial contest that culminated in the December 2010 vote to hold" World Cups in Russia and Qatar (THETIMES.co.uk, 6/17). The GUARDIAN's Owen Gibson notes FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee Chair Domenico Scala has "already reiterated that there could be a revote" for those tournaments if "clear evidence of bribery emerged." Scala last week said that in the wake of Blatter’s promise to step down, a re-vote "remained a possibility" (THEGUARDIAN.com, 6/17).
