PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi charged in FIFA Bribery case

The case involves several high profile names including former FIFA secretary-general.

Swiss federal prosecutors have charged the president of French football giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Thursday in connection with a wider bribery investigation linked to World Cup television rights. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Al-Khelaifi, who denies any wrongdoing, has been charged for inciting former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement. As per the Guardian, The office of Switzerland’s attorney general has filed an indictment against the PSG president who is also the head of Qatari broadcaster BeIN Sports and a member of the UEFA executive committee. Al-Khelaifi, however, no longer faces an accusation of bribery. After a three-year investigation, FIFA reached an agreement with Al-Khelaifi last month and dropped its criminal complaint. The complaints were related to giving the broadcasting rights of 2026 and 2030 World Cup to BeIN Sports. [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Al-Khelaifi has denied any misconduct and said, “I have been cleared of all suspicions of bribery and the case has been dismissed definitively & conclusively. While a secondary technical charge remains outstanding, I have every expectation that this will be proven completely groundless.” The PSG president was indicted for his alleged part in providing Valcke with a luxury Villa without paying rent valued at up to €1.8m. Valcke influenced the awarding of World Cup rights before being removed from the office in 2015. He was charged for accepting bribes, several counts of aggravated criminal mismanagement and falsification of documents. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News| ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] For the first time in the five-year investigation of Fifa business, Swiss prosecutors revealed that they believe Valcke received kickbacks totalling €1.25m to move World Cup rights toward favoured broadcasters in Italy and Greece. A third person, who was not identified, was charged with bribery over those payments and also for inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement. The PSG president was appointed to the Uefa executive committee, representing European clubs, one year ago despite being implicated in the bribery case.