It is a very media trial which opens this Monday in the fortified city of southern Switzerland, Bellinzona.
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court begins eleven days of hearings, in two different cases of which Jérôme Valcke, former number 2 of Fifa, is the main accused, in particular for acts of corruption.
The president of PSG Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is suspected, in his capacity as boss of BeIN Sports, of "instigating unfair management" in one of the two parts of the trial.
According to the prosecution, the case begins on October 24, 2013 at the French headquarters of BeIN, with the promise that the Qatari leader will buy a villa in Sardinia for five million euros, grant the exclusive use to Jérôme Valcke and then to him. will cede the property two years later "if confidence remains".
In return, supports the prosecution, Jérôme Valcke is committed to "doing what was in his power" so that BeIN becomes the regional broadcaster of the 2026 and 2030 Worlds.
NAK denies having acquired the "Villa Bianca" and assures that there was "never any question of offering it to Jérôme Valcke", according to his lawyers, quoted by AFP.
The latter indicate that the Qatari leader will be present in Bellinzona to demonstrate "his total innocence".
According to our information, NAK plans to be on site from the opening, this Monday, and during the first days of the debates.
The main accusation has been "completely and definitively dropped"
The defense of the Parisian president is based on two aspects.
First, Masters Grégoire Mangeat, Marc Bonnant and Fanny Margairaz state: “The main accusation of private corruption, at the heart of all the investigation for nearly three years, has been completely and definitively dropped.
[…] The secondary accusation, very recently conceived by the prosecution to try to save its case, is manifestly artificial, lacking in any basis in fact or in law.
"NAK's advice also points to" a context of serious and opaque disturbances on the intensity and the consequences of the collusion [...] between the MPC
(Editor's note: the public prosecutor of the confederation)
and Fifa.
"
To fully understand the first of these lines of defense, we must go back to last February.
As NAK's lawyers point out, corruption charges against the Qatari leader were dropped at this time.
Fifa had withdrawn its complaint after an amicable agreement, the content of which was not revealed.
According to the British daily The Times, this was approved as part of the payment of nearly 950,000 euros by NAK to Fifa.
"The withdrawal of the criminal complaint has the consequence that a condition for the criminal prosecution of this offense is no longer met", then specified the Swiss public prosecutor.
Following the dropping of the charges of private corruption, which also apply to Jérôme Valcke in this part of the trial, the Swiss justice system introduced charges of "unfair management" for the French leader and "incitement to unfair management ”for his Qatari counterpart.
Now, and this may seem funny, Jérôme Valcke must justify himself for having "kept for him" advantages "which should have gone to Fifa".
“The obligation to report and return by the employee […] also applies to […] bribes,” according to a March 25 decision of the Court of Criminal Affairs in this case.
"We will plead acquittal"
The accusation is based on article 24 of the Swiss Penal Code to target NAK: “Anyone who intentionally induces others to commit a crime or an offense incurs […] the penalty applicable to the perpetrator of this offense.
"In this case, a" custodial sentence of one to five years "if the charges are proven, according to article 158 of the same text.
"We will plead the acquittal and the innocence of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi will be established", assure its representatives, before the hearing which will be held before three judges and in French.
The second axis raised by the defense of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, which calls into question the impartiality of Swiss justice in this case, has been at the heart of the news for several months.
An investigation for “obstructing criminal proceedings” has been targeting FIFA boss Gianni Infantino and former Swiss prosecutor Michael Lauber since this summer, following three secret meetings in 2016 and 2017. “Circumstances which undermine the credibility of the public prosecutor's office in charge of the case and make its obstinacy towards our client suspect, ”underline the lawyers of the president of the BeIN Media group.
PSG Express
The essential newsletter for Parisian supporters
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
In the second case in the program of the 11 days of hearing, Jérôme Valcke will also have to answer for “repeated passive corruption”, “aggravated unfair management” and “false titles”, alongside the Greek businessman Dinos Deris, 63 years old.
The former Canal + journalist, also announced in Bellinzona, would have received 1.25 million euros, in three installments in 2013 and 2014, to promote the obtaining of media rights for several World Cups in Greece and Italy .
