In June 2019, officers from the French police anti-corruption branch, the OCLCIFF, raided the Paris offices of the European arm of US investment firm Colony Capital, situated in the centre of the capital close to the Champs-Élysées avenue. They were looking for documents relating to the sale by the firm in 2011 of football club Paris Saint-Germain to the sovereign fund Qatar Sports Investments, as part of an ongoing judicial investigation into suspected corruption surrounding the award to Qatar of the 2022 football World Cup.
International Investigation
Qatar 2022: probe into World Cup award intrigued by job for Platini’s son
In an ongoing judicial investigation in France into suspected corruption surrounding the awarding of the 2022 football World Cup to Qatar, evidence seized at the Paris offices of US firm Colony Capital suggests a well-remunerated post handed to Laurent Platini, son of former football star and UEFA president Michel Platini, by Qatari sovereign fund QSI may have been linked to its purchase of French football club PSG. The probe is focused on a crucial lunch meeting at the Élysée Palace in 2010 hosted by then French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and attended among others by Michel Platini and the then crown prince of Qatar. Yann Philippin unravels a complex case involving heads of state, business, diplomacy and arrangements behind closed doors.
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