Fraud Trial

Football's world governing body FIFA has been ordered to pay costs of £57,000 after a Swiss court ruled it was aware of the financial difficulties which led to the collapse of its ex-marketing partner ISL/ISMM.

The fraud trial in Zug was looking into the activities of six former executives of ISL/ISMM, FIFA's media partner for almost 20 years. A panel of three judges said that FIFA was aware of the company's financial situation months before it went bankrupt in 2001 and had failed to properly oversee marketing payments worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

FIFA had initially made a criminal complaint against ISL/ISMM, but withdrew it to pursue a civil claim instead. It was ordered to pay 117,000 Swiss francs (£57,000) in costs for lodging the criminal complaint that sparked the fraud inquiry.

The court prosecuted the six former executives on charges including embezzlement and forging documents, finding three of them partially guilty. Those three were fined thousands of pounds, but more serious charges were dismissed and all six defendants were awarded damages greater than the fines handed out.

The practice of making compensation payments to defendants who are acquitted is common in Switzerland.

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