Football: Criminal proceedings in connection with the German Football Association (DFB)
Bern, 01.09.2016 - The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has opened criminal proceedings in connection with the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball-Bund (DFB)). The suspects were members of the executive board of the organising committee for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland opened criminal proceedings on 6 November 2015. The proceedings relate in particular to allegations of fraud (Art. 146 Swiss Criminal Code (SCC)), criminal mismanagement (Art.158 SCC), money laundering (Art. 305bis SCC) and misappropriation (Art. 138 SCC). The suspects in the criminal proceedings are:
- Horst Rudolf Schmidt
- Theo Zwanziger
- Franz Beckenbauer
- Wolfgang Niersbach
The four persons named were members of the executive board of the organising committee for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The presumption of innocence applies to all four.
The investigations focus on the joint financing of a gala event, initially at the cost of EUR 7 million, later reduced to EUR 6.7 million. It is suspected that the suspects knew that this sum was not being used to fund the gala event, but instead to repay a debt that was not owed by the DFB.
In particular, it is suspected that the suspects wilfully misled their fellow members of the executive board of the organising committee for the 2006 World Cup. This was presumably done by the use of false pretences or concealment of the truth, thus inducing the other committee members to act in a manner that caused DFB a financial loss.
Swiss jurisdiction in the proceedings is based on the fact that certain of the alleged criminal acts were carried out in Switzerland, which is also the suspected place of unlawful enrichment.
In close coordination and cooperation with the competent authorities in Austria and Germany and with the support of the Federal Office of Police (fedpol), searches of premises or searches on a cooperative basis for the collection of evidence were carried out in eight separate locations at the same time today. In addition, various suspects were questioned by or on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.
No further details of the ongoing criminal proceedings can be given at this time.
Address for enquiries
André Marty, Head of Communications & Public Affairs of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, +41 58 464 32 40; info@ba.admin.ch
Publisher
Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland
http://www.ba.admin.ch/
