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PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi (pictured with superstar Neymar) will soon be charged in the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona. Image: EPA / EPA
Back in the trap: Federal Prosecutor Lauber and Sheikh Uefa from Qatar
The federal prosecutor is carrying out a process against a member of the UEFA executive and has a more serious problem.
The defender of a suspect in the “Summer Fairy Tale” process, which had just expired, spoke in an entry of “cover-up”, “forgetting”, “concealment”. He was referring to the strange theater that a group of men is presenting at the ominous third meeting between Federal Prosecutor Michael Lauber and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.
None of the four participants guaranteed to remember the meeting. Of course, it doesn’t matter who the fifth man was, who probably also attended the meeting at the “Schweizerhof” in Bern in June 2017.
The candidates were Olivier Thormann, once head of white-collar crime at Lauber, and Cédric Remund, prosecutor and prosecutor in the “Summer Fairy Tale.” After much back and forth, they produced more or less strong evidence that they were not number 5.
The question is central, because if a prosecutor who was operationally involved in soccer proceedings was present at the secret meeting, the soccer proceedings are hopelessly poisoned. Due to the fuss of the prosecutors with the private prosecutor Fifa.
Joël Pahud: is he the fifth man?
For the first time, a name comes out of the federal prosecutor’s office. Number 5 on the table is said to have been Joël Pahud (33), the federal prosecutor. The information comes from the inner circle of Lauber’s authority. Regardless, CH Media, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frenchman Le Monde are confirmed by other parties that the fifth man should be Pahud.
Pahud de Vaud has been a member of the football team since the start of the FIFA procedure in 2015. He once spontaneously stated that he was not the fifth man. The federal prosecutor declined to comment on the request.
Again it seems biased
The name Pahud contains various explosives. In September 2020, he will represent his first major case before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona. On the one hand, former FIFA general secretary Jerôme Valcke is accused, accused, inter alia, of bribery in connection with the granting of media rights to soccer tournaments. On the other hand, the proceedings are directed against a serious celebrity who is said to have benefited from the granting of rights: Nasser Al-Khelaifi. The Qatari businessman owns a media group. He is best known as the president of the Paris SaintGermain soccer club, which employs stars like Neymar Junior and Kylian Mbappé.
Pahud is also the federal prosecutor who is married to a member of UEFA’s legal service. This connection is even more significant now because suspect Al-Khelaifi has been a member of the UEFA Executive Committee since February 2019. Lauber’s prosecutor is pursuing a lawsuit against his wife’s superior, the Sheikh of Qatar. That is a lot like bias.
Did Pahud ever go out? Does he abandon the procedure? The federal prosecutor’s office also declined to comment.
The Infantino Uefa procedure was heavy on the stomach
The federal prosecutor is still in the UEFA trap. The case against the sheik has already been closed, but still raises questions. Since April 2016, the federal prosecutor’s office has been investigating the UEFA context. Formally against strangers, but it was a dubious television rights deal that Infantino had once signed as UEFA general secretary.
Michael Lauber met Gianni Infantino several times, but cannot remember him. Image: AP
This procedure was difficult on Infantino’s stomach. It hung like a sword from Damocles over his FIFA presidency. Among other things, the hacked emails, released by Tages-Anzeiger, indicate that Infantino also wanted to use the secret meetings to convince Lauber of his alleged innocence. His friend, Valais’ chief prosecutor, Rinaldo Arnold, helped him with his efforts at the federal prosecutor’s office. However, he does not remember anything either. One thing is certain: in November 2017, a few months after the “forgotten” secret meeting, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office stopped this procedure.
Regarding Pahud and the fifth man, a look at the timeline is helpful.
In March 2017, prosecutor Cédric Remund opened proceedings against Valcke and Al-Khelaifi from Qatar. In early June 2017, FIFA was established as a private plaintiff.
Two weeks later, on June 16, 2017, the ominous third meeting took place at the “Schweizerhof”, perhaps with Pahud.
On September 30, 2017, the management of this corruption process passed from Remund to Pahud. The two Vaudois are considered close confidants in the federal prosecutor’s office.
In view of the course of events, observers believe that the sinister meeting was about the UEFA trial, which was suspended shortly after, but also about the trial against Valcke and Al-Khelaifi.
Enigmatic FIFA “deal” with Al-Khelaifi
At least two more puzzles remain. One thing: why were two of Lauber and Infantino’s secret meetings held at the “Schweizerhof”? Since this belongs to the emirate of Qatar, it also has its message there. Which means that the hotel is definitely under surveillance or even disturbed.
The other, which may be related to the first: why did Infantinos Fifa suddenly withdraw his criminal complaint for private bribery of Al-Khelaifi in January 2020? Part of Pahud’s charges were broken. FIFA, according to the federal prosecutor, had reached “an unspecified friendly agreement” with Al-Khelaifi.
The presumption of innocence applies.
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