The investigatory department of FIFA’s Ethics Commission has completed its investigation into the conduct of Gianni Infantino, finding the President innocent of breaching the Code of Ethics of the organization.
Newsmen had initially reported that criminal proceedings started against Infantino in Switzerland following dealings between him and Swiss Attorney General, Michael Lauber.
The accusation against Infantino bordered on undocumented meetings between him and Lauber which was alleged to have happened in 2016 and 2017, with criminal proceedings announced last month.
“In accordance with article 59 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, the chairperson of the investigatory chamber has opened a preliminary investigation on the basis of the allegations,” read a statement.
“In particular, as the allegations are related to meetings between the FIFA President and the Swiss Attorney General which have since been made the subject of an investigation by a Swiss federal special prosecutor, Stefan Keller, all further relevant facts and materials available to the investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee were also examined.
“In this connection, access was granted to a copy of the decision of 29 July 2020 by the Swiss special prosecutor, as well as the various decisions of the Swiss Federal Criminal and Administrative Courts relating to the matter and the ruling of the Supervisory Authority for the Office of the Attorney General relating to Mr Lauber.
“All of this material has been duly scrutinised by the chairperson of the investigatory chamber in the context of the preliminary investigation.”
However, said chairperson “has decided to file the complaint and close the case due to the evident lack of a prima facie case regarding any alleged breach of the FIFA Code of Ethics”.
The statement added: “Based on the information available to date, no aspect of the conduct analysed constitutes a violation of the FIFA regulations – some aspects do not even fall within the provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics, or justify the adoption of any kind of measure, including that of a provisional suspension.”
Newsmen report that both Infantino and Lauber deny any wrongdoing and FIFA had insisted that Infantino will not step aside despite the criminal proceedings.
