German football bigwigs’ fraud scandal update

This football video from the USA says about itself:

Franz Beckenbauer own goal – Team America vs New York Cosmos, 1983

Swiss research into Franz Beckenbauer

Today, 13:44

The Swiss public prosecutor has started an investigation into Franz Beckenbauer in connection with the allocation of the [football] World Cup in 2006 to Germany. Beckenbauer, who was president of the Organizing Committee of the World Cup, is suspected of fraud and money laundering.

The Swiss confirm that an article in the German magazine Der Spiegel is the reason for the investigation. The magazine wrote last year about a series of questionable payments between 2002 and 2005. Because of this, Wolfgang Niersbach has already resigned as president of the German Football Association. The Swiss judiciary now is investigating these payments.

It was discovered that six million Swiss francs in four installments between May and July 2002 were transferred from a joint account in Switzerland of Beckenbauer and his then manager Robert Schwam. The money went to a Qatar account. After that three more such transfers were done, for a total of ten million Swiss francs.

Beckenbauer has always said that he knew nothing of the payments.

Qatar, Adidas

Adidas CEO Louis Dreyfus and FIFA official Mohammed Bin Hamman were involved in these transfers. The latter was later suspended for life for corruption by the world football association.

The money was needed for the organization of the World Cup. Because the organizing committee itself did not have enough money, money was borrowed from Adidas, which was later refunded by the German Football Association.