The Swiss attorney general has opened a criminal investigation into Sepp Blatter, FIFA's president of 17 years, citing "suspicion on criminal mismanagement and suspicion of misappropriation."
Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) released a statement Friday confirming that it is investigating two transactions involving 79-year-old Blatter - a TV rights contract he signed with the Caribbean Football Union and a "disloyal payment" of $2 million to the president of European soccer's governing body, Michel Platini, according to CNN.
The OAG said that it had interrogated Blatter after a FIFA executive committee meeting on Friday. FIFA's headquarters was also searched, and data was confiscated from Blatter's office, according to The Guardian.
"The OAG suspects that on 12 September 2005 Mr. Joseph Blatter has signed a contract with the Caribbean Football Union (with Jack Warner as the President at this time); this contract was unfavorable for FIFA," the OAG statement said.
"On the other hand, there is as suspicion that, in the implementation of this agreement, Joseph Blatter also violated his fiduciary duties and acted against the interest of FIFA and/or FIFA Marketing & TV AG."
The statement continued: "Additionally, Mr. Joseph Blatter is suspected of a disloyal payment of two million Swiss Francs to Michel Platini, President of Union of European Football Association (UEFA), at the expense of FIFA, which was allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002 ; this payment was executed in February 2011."
Fourteen FIFA officials were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice and seven executives were arrested in Zurich in May in a probe of "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted corruption," reported The Associated Press. Of those 14 indicted, 13 have since been arrested. Three have already been charged in U.S. courts and 10 are awaiting extradition, according to The Guardian.
Shortly after the May arrests, Blatter won his fifth consecutive presidential election but shortly thereafter announced that he would step down from the position he has held since 1998. A special election to pick his successor is scheduled for February.
