Switzerland's lower house on Monday voted to lift immunity from Attorney General Michael Lauber, who resigned last month after coming under scrutiny of investigators in a corruption probe
GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th August, 2020) Switzerland's lower house on Monday voted to lift immunity from Attorney General Michael Lauber, who resigned last month after coming under scrutiny of investigators in a corruption probe.
According to a statement published on the Swiss National Council's website, Lauber attempted to conceal meetings with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other figures related to a corruption investigation into the football governing body. The attorney tendered his resignation last month and is set to leave the post on August 31.
"After holding several meetings with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, chief public prosecutor for the Upper Valais region, Rinaldo Arnold, and other people, and not including [these meetings] in a protocol, Attorney General of the Confederation Michael Lauber is suspected of abuse of power under Article 312 of the Criminal Code, violation of official secrets under Article 320 of the Criminal Code and obstruction of the initiation of a criminal case under Article 305," a statement from the parliament's Immunity Commission said.
The committee said that retracting immunity from Lauber was necessary to achieve greatest possible transparency in the course of the investigation.
The move paves the way for criminal proceedings against Lauber himself, pertaining to his conduct towards the FIFA higher-ups while his own office was investigating the organization.
