Friday , March 29 2024

UEFA headquarters raided by Swiss police

Swiss federal police have raided UEFA’s headquarters to seize details of a television rights contract, following the Panama Papers leak this week.

 

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has become embroiled in the Panama Papers affair

The 46-year-old Swiss-Italian, in his former role as UEFA director of legal services, co-signed a television rights contract in 2006 with two businessmen who have since been caught up in football’s corruption scandal, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists which is analysing 11million leaked files.

Infantino and UEFA deny wrongdoing, but Swiss authorities raided the Nyon offices of European football’s governing body on Wednesday, it confirmed. UEFA is fully cooperating.

UEFA said in a statement: ‘UEFA can confirm that today we received a visit from the office of the Swiss Federal Police acting under a warrant and requesting sight of the contracts between UEFA and Cross Trading/Teleamazonas.

‘Naturally, UEFA is providing the Federal Police with all relevant documents in our possession and will cooperate fully.’

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said the raid, which was one of two which took place on Wednesday, was part of criminal proceedings directed against persons unknown.

A statement from the Swiss OAG said: ‘On April 6, 2016, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), within the scope of ongoing criminal proceedings, conducted a search on a co-operative basis for the collection of evidence at the headquarters of the UEFA and at another enterprise.

‘The search was motivated by the suspicion of criminal mismanagement (Art. 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code / SCC) and, respectively, that of misappropriation (Art. 138 of the SCC).

‘The OAG’s criminal proceedings are in connection with the acquisition of television rights and are at present directed against persons unknown, meaning that for the time being, no specific individual is being targeted by these proceedings.’

German publication Suddeutsche Zeitung obtained the Mossack Fonseca documents, with one showing Infantino in 2006 co-signed a contract on behalf of UEFA to sell television rights for the Champions League and other club competitions.

The deal was with two figures who have since been accused of bribery as part of the United States investigation into corruption at FIFA. Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis, his son, are currently under house arrest in Argentina.

Cross Trading, the Jinkis’ Argentinian company which was registered in the South Pacific tax haven of Niue, bought the rights for US dollars 111,000 (now £78,780), according to ICIJ.

Hugo Jinkis (left) and his son Mariano (centre) have also signed the deal and have since been been accused of bribery as part of the United States investigation into corruption at FIFA

The rights were immediately sold the rights on to Ecuadorian broadcaster Teleamazonas for $311,170 (£220,800).

UEFA had initially denied doing business with any of the 14 individuals indicted by the FBI, but admits now its response was incomplete.

After a full review of thousands of commercial contracts, it accepts the deal was done as part of an ‘open tender’ – a process conducted by Team Marketing on behalf of UEFA – and the rights were sold to the highest bidder.

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