PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi quizzed by Swiss authorities on fresh bribery allegations

Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaifi was questioned by Swiss Federal Authorities on Monday, December 2, 2019 for a bribery allegation. The authorities have been investigating the matter for the past two years. Al-Khelaifi is believed to have allegedly bribed a FIFA official to acquire broadcasting rights.

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PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi is believed to have bribed a FIFA official

Criminal proceedings were initiated against three men including Al-Khelaifi way back in 2017 and they have been questioned a number of times. Nasser Al-Khelaifi was the chairman of Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, during which he is alleged to have been involved in bribery. He is said to have arranged for a luxury villa in Italy for FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke in order to acquire the broadcasting rights deal for the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cups.

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Nasser Al-Khelaifi guilty?

According to the Swiss prosecution, Valcke was believed to have accepted bribes from his two co-suspects, which involves Nasser Al-Khelaifi as one of the suspects. In particular, PSG President Al-Khelaifi allegedly gave the official, the rent-free use of a property. beIN Sports had renewed its rights for the Middle East and North African region for those tournaments. The organization allegedly acquired the rights for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments as soon as FIFA declared Qatar as the 2022 tournament hosts.

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Nasser Al-Khelaifi: beIN Sports denies allegations

beIN Sports reportedly responded on the matter, saying that the principal allegation against Al-Khelaifi has no single basis in law or fact. Due to this reason, a motion to dismiss proceedings will be filed by Al-Khelaifi’s lawyers soon. beIN Sports also clarified that the price at which the deal was negotiated for the tournament, is a record for the Middle East region, and that clearly shows that no favourable deal was struck. Al-Khelaifi has been involved in other corruption cases as well. In a separate investigation, French prosecutors have implicated the PSG President in a case linked to payments allegedly helping Doha to win the rights to host the World Athletics Championships.

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