The International Football Federation (FIFA) has filed a criminal complaint against former president Sepp Blatter over the finances of the museum of the world house of football in Zurich, which is operating at a loss.
FIFA said today that it suspects "criminal and mismanagement by the former management of FIFA and the companies it appointed to work on the museum" in the renovated and rented building in the city center.
That museum is considered Blatter's personal project.
The museum opened in 2016, after spending $140 million in soccer money to renovate the 34s office building, including XNUMX rental apartments.
The museum was due to open in May 2015, when Blatter won a fifth term as president, but was delayed until he left the job under pressure from Swiss and US investigations and international soccer officials.
Blatter bound Fifa to a lease agreement with the building's owner, insurance company Swiss Life, which requires payment of $360 million by 2045 at market rates, Fifa said.
Fifa's financial report says the museum has operated at a loss every year, including $50 million in 2016, which includes one-off costs.
According to reports for 2019, the museum had $3,5 million in revenue and $6,3 million in investments and expenses. In the accounts from 2018, the income was almost four million dollars, and the consumption was 12 million.
Blatter risks a local investigation as he is already a suspect in two criminal cases opened by federal prosecutors over how he spent FIFA money as president.
Among other things, the payment of two million dollars to former UEFA president Michel Platini from 2011 and one million dollars to the Football Association of Trinidad and Tobago are also being investigated.
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