Friday 17 April 2015 17:08, UK
Switzerland’s Attorney General continues to investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing by individuals involved in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
FIFA recommended that a criminal complaint should be lodged with the Swiss authorities following the investigation into the bidding process for the two World Cups to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively.
The report by US lawyer Michael Garcia, led FIFA Judge Eckert to decide that there was, “possible misconduct of individual persons in connection with the awarding of the hosting rights”. The Garcia report was then handed over to the Swiss Attorney General.
A spokeswoman for the Attorney General told Sky Sports News HQ: “The examination and analysis of the voluminous and complex dossiers (around 200,000 pages of documentation) will take some time and a task force is working on it. Therefore, I can't indicate a precise date when the Office of the Attorney General will be in a position to inform the public.”
The chief investigator, US lawyer Michael Garcia, resigned on December 17 last year after his report was summarised publically by FIFA Judge Hans- Joachim Eckert.
Garcia said Jude Eckert’s summary, “contained numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions detailed in the Investigatory Chamber’s report”.
Two days later on December 19, the FIFA Executive Committee chaired by President Sepp Blatter agreed to publish the Garcia report - but only after cases against individuals had concluded.
After five months there have been no developments or charges and the Garcia report has yet to be published in public.
