Special Investigators Want to Dismiss Proceedings Against Lauber
Published: Friday, Aug 11th 2023, 16:40
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The Swiss criminal proceedings against former Federal Prosecutor Michael Lauber in the case of non-recorded meetings with FIFA President Gianni Infantino are to be dropped. The special investigators have informed the parties accordingly, as reported by Radio SRF and Tamedia. According to the "Tages-Anzeiger", the proceedings against Infantino are also close to being dropped. The parties have been informed by the extraordinary Zurich prosecutors Hans Maurer and Ulrich Weder that the proceedings will end with an exoneration for Lauber. The parties have ten days to respond to the planned dismissal of the proceedings. The case is one of the biggest Swiss justice affairs of the past few years. It was triggered by revelations in 2018 by an investigative platform called "Football Leaks" about informal and non-recorded meetings between Lauber and Infantino. Lauber was suspected of abuse of office, violation of official secrecy and favouritism. The investigators apparently found no evidence of criminal acts, so they intend to drop the proceedings. Lauber expressed satisfaction with the announcement of the dismissal of the proceedings, saying he was not surprised. He said the announcement confirms that he has always told the truth. It is not yet known whether Lauber will accept that he should pay part of the costs. Michael Lauber was Federal Prosecutor of Switzerland from 2012 to the end of August 2020. He was heavily criticized for possible inconsistencies in investigations into the world football association FIFA. The parliamentary court commission initiated a dismissal procedure, after which Lauber resigned. His successor was the former commander of the Bern cantonal police, Stefan Blättler. The supervisory authority for the Federal Prosecutor's Office concluded in a disciplinary procedure that the former Federal Prosecutor had violated various official duties. It accused him of lack of insight and a "wrong understanding of the profession" and even ordered a wage cut. Lauber appealed against this. The Federal Administrative Court criticized the non-recorded meetings with Infantino, but did not consider them to be inadmissible.nnnnnnnn
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