Even several months after the end of the World Cup, there are new reports that do not cast a good light on the tournament. This time it’s about possible espionage.
According to a report, Qatar bugged a secret meeting between the Swiss federal prosecutor and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. This is reported by the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. The aim was to blackmail federal prosecutor Michael Lauber – who was investigating corruption at Fifa at the time.
According to the report, Qatar had a hotel room bugged where then federal prosecutor Michael Lauber secretly met Infantino in June 2017. The aim was to blackmail Lauber. At the time, he led investigations into corruption in the world football association and, among other things, into the controversial award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
Lauber’s meeting with Infantino took place in a conference room in a luxury hotel in Bern, which has been owned by the emirate since 2009. The room can also be reached via the same corridor as the Qatari embassy.
Lawyer had no knowledge
According to sources mentioned in the “NZZ” report, the bugging operation under the code name “Project Matterhorn” was intended to blackmail Lauber with the recording. The Swiss federal prosecutor had always denied the meeting with Infantino – but ultimately had to resign in 2020 due to disclosures about a total of three informal meetings with Fifa officials.
According to the “NZZ”, Lauber’s lawyer explained that his client had no knowledge of a recording of the meeting with Infantino. In addition, he was never approached by representatives of Qatar, nor were there any attempts at blackmail. The “NZZ” revelations were also denied by the Qatari side.
Qatar has also been in the spotlight since the end of last year because of a corruption scandal involving the EU Parliament. The Gulf Emirates and Morocco are said to have tried to bribe representatives of the EU Parliament and thus influence the policies of the European Union. Both countries vehemently deny the allegations. According to the responsible Belgian investigators, the main suspect in the proceedings admitted to having passed on money from Qatar and Morocco.
