How Infantino Fooled FIFA To Eliminate Two Strict Inspectors 4 Bodies Found In Burning Villa In Yverdon VD – One Child Still Missing

The accused flight took place on April 11 and 12, 2017. Fifa boss Gianni Infantino flew with a few companions from Suriname to Geneva – by private jet. The Fifa administration had actually booked a scheduled flight for the team – which was, however, postponed that day for technical reasons.

Because of this private flight, several criminal charges were later filed against the FIFA boss in the course of the affair over unrecorded meetings between Infantino and then-federal prosecutor Michael Lauber. There were suspicions of dishonest business transactions or even fraud.

The two extraordinary federal prosecutors, Hans Maurer and Ulrich Weder, have now dropped this criminal case in connection with the Suriname flight.

“No objection to criminal law”

Maurer told CH Media: “We concluded that the use of the private flight, which cost $129,300, was not criminally objectionable.” Because: “In our opinion, the flight fell under the Fifa cost scheme for senior officials. For reasons of confidentiality, apart from Infantino, only one person within FIFA knew the real reason for the meeting with Vasilios Skouris, a former president of the European Court of Justice.

The fact that Infantino subsequently ended up in a criminal case because of the flight is his own fault. He told FIFA’s internal compliance department that he had an urgent meeting with UEFA to attend. Specifically, there was a meeting with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Only Ceferin turned out not to be in Switzerland that day, but in Armenia. Infantino has clearly told Fifa a lie.

It was a white lie, Infantino later spread via “NZZ” when he was in trouble because of the criminal proceedings. The agreement with Ceferin actually did not exist. But according to the new version, in April 2017, Infantino could not disclose who he met. This person, as the two Special Prosecutors Maurer and Weder now confirm, is Vasilios Skouris, Greek, former President of the European Court of Justice.

Shot Fifa ethicists examined Infantino

The background of the meeting was controversial: Infantino was organizing a veritable coup d’état. He was looking for a replacement for the two FIFA chief ethicists Hans-Joachim Eckert and Cornel Borbély, whom he wanted to get rid of. But Infantino did not want this to be known internally at FIFA. He therefore planned to perform a surprise move, an undercarriage.

And Infantino certainly had a motive for that.

The German Eckert and the Swiss Borbély had the reputation of acting incorruptibly against abuses within FIFA. In 2015 you had sidelined the club greats Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini. Having previously deployed under the same Blatter proved their independence. Above all, in 2017 you launched a preliminary investigation into Blatter’s successor, Infantino. This was made public on April 27, 2017 by the “Mirror”: Infantino is suspected of “influencing the presidential elections of the African continental association CAF, thereby violating the association’s code of ethics”. Infantino feared that he would suffer the same fate as Blatter and Platini and be banned for years by the ethics committee.

Infantino did a great job and the putsch against Eckert and Borbély quickly followed: FIFA literally sent them into the desert in early May 2017. Formally, the two were not even nominated for re-election to the Bahraini Congress. Instead, two Infantino favorites were suggested and chosen: the aforementioned Skouris and the Colombian Maria Claudia Rojas. Infantino also met Rojas in April 2017 during his trip to South America. This should later pay off for Infantino, as it was the same Rojas who, now FIFA chief ethicist, classified Infantino’s 2020 Suriname flight as harmless.

Back to the criminal case against Infantino, which has since been dropped. Researcher Hans Maurer says: “We don’t know who came up with the idea to replace the previous ethics officers Eckert and Borbély. But it is understandable that the FIFA president wanted to meet someone like Skouris, who would take on such an important role at FIFA.”

The fact that internal compliance spoke of a meeting with UEFA president Ceferin – more precisely: of a “planned visit to UEFA” – was of course not the whole truth, but it was not relevant from a criminal point of view, according to Maurer.

“Significantly tougher main proceedings” are still ongoing

Not criminally, but ethically? So can the FIFA boss mislead his compliance?

Critics object, even though he is believed to have a noble motive for meeting Skouris: he should not have lied to the compliance. Instead, claim a “confidential meeting” and make sure you can refer to information later.

The timing of the halt to proceedings is racy – next week, Infantino is seeking re-election as president by the FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda. “Our agenda has nothing to do with FIFA’s agenda,” said Maurer. The suspension of the Surinamese part, a sub-case, was scrapped in view of the focus on the main issue and postponement could not be justified. And the much more serious main procedures for the non-recorded meetings are still ongoing, Maurer emphasises.

Accordingly, the timing of the Surinamese setting would be a coincidence – and certainly not a reason for Infantino to call all-clear.

The abandonment of the Suriname case is de facto final as only Infantino can challenge it. Which of course he won’t.

Infantino waives compensation

FIFA “welcomed” the termination of proceedings, as announced. And further: “The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office concluded that the travel arrangements made by the Office of the President and the Travel Department of FIFA were in compliance with FIFA’s compliance rules and regulations.” FIFA’s Ethics Committee had previously come to this conclusion.

In addition, Fifa announces: “According to the decision of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Government bears all costs caused by the investigations. The President of FIFA has waived the assertion of the claims for damages and compensation to which he is entitled.

Infantino therefore believes that he is still entitled to compensation. compensation for what? Fifa does not explain this in the communication.

Infantino also expresses the hope that the judiciary will now recognize that FIFA “has left its past behind and is established as a credible and respected organization”.

The proceedings are still ongoing because of the unrecorded meetings in the so-called “Schweizerhof” affair, which special investigators Weder and Maurer have been conducting since December 15, 2015 against, among others, Infantino and former federal prosecutor Lauber. This concerns both suspicion of violation of professional secrecy, abuse of office and nepotism, as well as incitement to this. The “related evidence and investigation are ongoing,” the special investigators said. (aargauerzeitung.ch)