Swiss prosecutors accused former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini with fraud and other offenses on Tuesday, following a six-year investigation into a disputed $2 million payment.
Blatter, 85, and Platini, 65, will be tried in federal criminal court in Bellinzona in the coming months.
In a statement, Swiss federal authorities said the payment “damaged FIFA’s assets and fraudulently enriched Platini.”
The case, which began in September 2015, resulted in Blatter’s resignation from FIFA ahead of schedule, as well as the demise of then-UEFA President Michel Platini’s bid to succeed his old mentor.
Cases in Switzerland might take years to resolve.
The dispute revolves around Platini’s written request to FIFA in January 2011 for backpay for his work as a presidential adviser during Blatter’s first term, from 1998 to 2002.
FIFA was given permission by Blatter to make the payment within weeks. He was prepared to run for re-election in a race against Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam, in which Platini’s clout among European voters was crucial.
Both Blatter and Platini have long denied wrongdoing, citing a verbal agreement they made for the money to be paid more than 20 years ago.
Blatter has been accused with forgery of a document, fraud, mismanagement, and misappropriation of FIFA money. Platini has been accused with forgery, fraud, and being an accomplice to Blatter’s alleged mismanagement.
Platini, a legendary French soccer player, was not formally investigated until last year, and it was only months later that the more serious charge of fraud was leveled against both men.
In September 2015, prosecutors filed criminal charges against Blatter ahead of a police raid at FIFA headquarters in Zurich on the day he and Platini attended a meeting of the soccer body’s executive committee.
