Federal prosecutors in Switzerland have charged former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, once one of Blatter’s closest confidants, with fraud and other crimes after a six-year investigation into an allegedly illegal $2 million payment made to Platini.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said Platini worked as a consultant for Blatter from 1998 to 2002, earning an annual salary of around $300,000. But prosecutors said that more than eight years after his consultant role ended, Platini demanded a payment of $2 million for backdated additional salary, which FIFA paid him in early 2011 “with Blatter’s involvement.