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The suspension of Olivier Thormann and the
naming of a special prosecutor to look into the matter comes
amid other high-profile investigations by the economic crime
division, including into scandals surrounding Malaysian state
fund 1MDB and Brazilian energy group Petrobras.
Federal Prosector Michael Lauber received information in late
September including allegations against Thormann, the Office of
the Attorney General (OAG) said in a statement on Friday,
confirming a report by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.
"The information on which this decision is based is related to
the OAG's criminal proceedings in the field of soccer and its
governing body FIFA," it said.
"At the end of September 2018, Federal Prosecutor Michael Lauber
received information with allegations against the head of the
economic crime division of the Federal Prosecutor's Office," it
added.
It said the information "may be of criminal relevance", without
elaborating.
It said it took the precautionary steps as standard measures to
preserve the integrity of the OAG and its investigations and
that Thormann, who left by mutual agreement, enjoyed the
presumption of innocence.
Thormann could not be reached via the OAG for comment. His
private telephone number is not listed.
The OAG has filed no charges in its investigations into FIFA to
date.
The OAG said the allegations about Thormann had nothing to do
with two meetings between leaders of the OAG and FIFA that
became public following publication of the so-called "Football
Leaks" this month.
German magazine Der Spiegel and European Investigative
Collaborations, a network of international media, reported that
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino had broken FIFA rules by interfering
in the rewriting of its ethics code.
A 2015 FBI raid in Zurich saw seven officials arrested on
corruption charges. More than 40 entities and individuals have
been charged by U.S. prosecutors in connection with the FIFA
investigation.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; editing by Andrew Roche)
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