False coke charges and strange shadow orders: FIFA’s special investigator’s confusing approach

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Things are getting more and more horrifying. Stefan Keller (46) has been without a job for quite some time. At the end of May 2021, the former FIFA researcher threw in the towel. Out of necessity, the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona had previously prohibited him from continuing the investigation into FIFA boss Gianni Infantino (53). This meant that Keller was effectively no longer able to investigate the unreported secret meetings between former federal prosecutor Michael Lauber (57) and Infantino as extraordinary federal prosecutor.

The suspicion was serious: Infantino would have instrumentalized Lauber to take over power at the World Football Association. Thanks to Lauber’s investigation against FIFA president Sepp Blatter (87) and UEFA president Michel Platini (68), Infantino ascended to the FIFA throne in February 2016. But now it is official: there is no truth in the suspicion. Last week, Keller’s successors, extraordinary federal prosecutors Hans Maurer and Ulrich Weder, officially closed the criminal proceedings.

Pensioner tapped over false coke charges

But the 221-page stop order mainly indicates legal chaos, as the “Tages-Anzeiger” reports. The newspaper had access to the order. Their conclusion: Former Special Investigator Keller’s investigation was long based on speculation rather than research. This is not reflected well in the Swiss legal system.

Keller ordered the St. Gallen cantonal police to conduct an extensive investigation into Lauber: “What is leisure behavior like? Are there any private connections to Infantino?” And then ‘narcotics abuse’: ‘Is there any evidence for that?’ Everything must be very discreet.

Even more bizarre: Keller didn’t just want to monitor the telephone lines of André Marty, then head of communications for the Public Prosecution Service, in real time. He even ordered a wiretap on Marty’s 80-year-old mother. The reason: When her son once became a victim of theft, he gave her telephone number as a contact person to the police.

It is not surprising that no suspicious information emerged from the telephone surveillance. The cantonal police also reportedly found no indication of possible drug use. It seems obvious: Keller had nothing more than a rumor on his hands.

Now the ex-special investigator didn’t want to remember

But that is not everything. At the same time, the special investigator felt persecuted. “I received information today from a reliable source that I was being watched/shadowed,” Keller said in a letter to the St. Gallen cantonal police on November 4, 2020. ‘How should I behave? Potential danger?”, the “Tages-Anzeiger” quotes from the files.

In 2021 it became too colorful for the Federal Criminal Court. This put an end to the affair and Keller went on strike, making it impossible for him to investigate further.

Things only got really embarrassing when Keller, who still presides over the Obwalden High Court today, had to answer questions to his two successors. They wanted to know from Keller who had informed him about his alleged shadow work and surveillance. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember. The same sounded when it came to suspected cocaine use, which also disappeared into thin air. Keller did not respond to media inquiries.

His successors Maurer and Weder would soon have realized that the theory of a coup at FIFA did not work. If only because Infantino only met Lauber after he had already become FIFA president. However, those involved still do not want to remember the secret meetings. According to the stop order, these remained “suspicious and opaque”. The whole truth remains obscure. (dba)

Source:Blick