Geneva, Nov 19: The latest twist in FIFA's World Cup bid corruption case has landed on the desk of Switzerland's attorney general. FIFA filed a "criminal complaint" against unnamed individuals, calling on Swiss federal prosecutors to investigate money transfers connected to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests that were won by Russia and Qatar.
The unexpected move comes five days after FIFA had welcomed a "degree of closure" on the case. "In particular there seem to be grounds for suspicion that, in isolated cases, international transfers of assets with connections to Switzerland took place, which merit examination by the criminal prosecution authorities," FIFA said in a statement.