Zurich-Sana
The Office of the Prosecutor in Switzerland today announced that charges have been filed against Qatar’s Nasser Al-Khulaifi, head of Doha-based BN Media Group, and Jerome Falk, former Secretary-General of the FIFA, related to fraud in granting broadcast rights to a number of tournaments, including the World Cup and the Confederations Cup.
Reuters quoted the office as saying in a statement that "Falk was accused of receiving bribery, major administrative offenses and forgery of documents, while Al-Khulaifi and another businessman, who was not identified, accused Falk of committing major criminal offenses."
“Between 2013 and 2015, Falk used his position in FIFA to influence the granting of media rights for many of the World Cup and Confederations Cup rounds, giving preference to media partners he preferred and in return he obtained undue benefits from Al Khulaifi and another person through the use of a villa in Italian Sardinia. ”
It is noteworthy that the BN Sport network established by the sheikhdom of Qatar controls the broadcasting rights of most of the world championships, leagues and various sports competitions.
The scandals against the sheikhdom of Qatar and its officials continue as many reports have previously confirmed that they relied on secret deals, corruption and flagrant violations of human rights to host the World Cup in an attempt to appear on the regional and international scene and play a role greater than its size.