They determine that the use of a private plane falls within “FIFA’s expense regulations for senior officials”
MADRID, March 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Swiss prosecutor’s office has dropped the investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino over a controversial flight he took from Suriname to Switzerland in 2017, a decision that comes a week before he is expected to be re-elected.
The Swiss Attorney General’s Office (OAG) announced the suspension of this investigation, determining that Infantino had been able to demonstrate that the trip from Suriname “had been in accordance with FIFA’s expense regulations for senior officials,” according to the Prosecutor’s Office. In August 2020, FIFA’s own Ethics Committee closed this case “for lack of credible evidence.”
The Swiss Prosecutor’s Office also recognized that the reasons for the trip provided by FIFA and Infantino himself are completely justified. Now, the Swiss State will assume all the costs that have derived from the investigation to the president of the world soccer governing body, who has also waived “any compensation for damages” and “any possible compensation”
Infantino, 52, has been FIFA president since February 2016, succeeding his Swiss compatriot Sepp Blatter. In addition, without another candidate, it is expected that he will extend his mandate for another four years, until 2027, reaffirming his position on March 16, at the organization’s Congress, to be held in Rwanda.