Infantino took private jets from Putin’s Russia and Qatar, leaked FIFA probe shows

The Telegraph News Corp ↘ 1.26% on Sunday published previously unreported details of a 2016 FIFA ethics investigation into President Gianni Infantino, revealing he accepted seats on private jets provided by Vladimir Putin's Russian government and the Emir of Qatar within months of taking office — and used FIFA resources for personal purposes.telegraph

The revelations come as Infantino faces the most serious threat to his decade-long tenure: UEFA filed applications in U.S. courts last week seeking evidence for a planned criminal complaint against him in Switzerland over his failed attempt to sell a 20 percent stake in the World Cup to private investors.sports.yahoo+1

Private Jets and the Pope

According to the investigation documents obtained by The Telegraph, Infantino's staff canceled commercial flight bookings to Moscow in April 2016 so that he, secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, and former Croatia international Zvonimir Boban could instead fly on a private jet used by Vitaly Mutko, president of the Russian Football Union. When a delayed meeting with Putin caused Infantino to miss his onward commercial flight to Doha, the Russians arranged a second private jet, owned by a Gazprom subsidiary. Once in Qatar, a scheduling delay prompted the Qataris to provide yet another private jet back to Geneva.goal+1

Infantino also flew on a jet owned by Russian businessman Leon Semenenko after the 2016 Champions League final in Milan, traveling with his wife and mother to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican. He told investigators the visit was "of a purely private nature," though he had been invited in his capacity as FIFA president. Lead investigator Vanessa Allard noted he "might be considered as not having acted with complete integrity" for mixing official and private aspects of the trip — the closest the report came to criticism.telegraph

"Insulting" Salary and Inner Circle

The investigation also found that Infantino refused to sign a salary contract worth two million Swiss francs, calling the offer "insulting" given that his predecessor Sepp Blatter had earned 3.6 million Swiss francs. He is now said to earn £4.4 million a year. Infantino bypassed FIFA's human resources protocols to appoint allies including Grafstrom, Boban, and a personal friend from his Swiss village on salaries the HR department flagged as above normal. Investigators attributed the lapse to HR rather than to Infantino.goal+1

Allard cleared Infantino on all seven charges. Most officials who filed complaints or gave evidence subsequently left FIFA.telegraph

A President Under Siege

The disclosures add to mounting pressure on Infantino ahead of FIFA's presidential election in March. UEFA's 56-page court filing, lodged in the Southern District of New York on August 27, accuses him of "criminal mismanagement" over the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise plan and seeks documents from Thrive Capital, JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. ↘ 0.45%, and others involved in the scheme. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani last week asked Infantino to stay away from a youth tournament, telling him his presence would "undermine" the event.rte+3

FIFA referred The Telegraph to its 2016 statement confirming Infantino was cleared of all charges.telegraph