Former president Nicolas Sarkozy subject of World Cup corruption legal complaint

Anticor, a French anti-corruption association, has filed a complaint against former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his former right-hand man Claude Guéant, and advertising executive François de La Brosse, accusing them of being involved in a corruption pact related to the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar. This is according to Le Monde.

The complaint, filed on April 7th, also targets former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Ben Jassem al-Thani for alleged influence peddling, corruption of a foreign public official, criminal association, illegal campaign financing, and concealing the crime.

Anticor’s complaint is based on an article published by Mediapart in September, which reported that de La Brosse’s company, ZNZ Group, had worked for free during Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign, and then as an adviser to the Élysée Palace. When ZNZ encountered financial difficulties in 2011, de La Brosse reportedly sought help from Sarkozy and Guéant. According to Mediapart, ZNZ and the Qatari company Q.Media signed a protocol agreement that summer to create a web TV station called “Enjoy Qatar,” with Q.Media paying ZNZ €600,000.

Anticor’s complaint also refers to other invoices and Q.Media’s investment in the French company. The association questions whether this was an offer of a corrupt pact made solely to thank de La Brosse for his services, or part of a larger corrupt pact between Sarkozy and Qatar. Guéant’s lawyer, Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi, stated that his client had not been accused of any wrongdoing in this case.

Anticor has requested that these allegations be included in the judicial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Anticor is a civil party to the case, which was opened in 2019 to investigate whether the designation of the Gulf state was the result of a “quid pro quo” deal made during a lunch at the Élysée Palace on November 23, 2010, attended by Sarkozy, former footballer Michel Platini, then-president of UEFA, and al-Thani, the Crown Prince of Qatar who became Emir in 2013.

Anticor’s lawyer, Jean-Baptiste Soufron, stated that the association had taken up the case because of its potential links to the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar, as well as potential influence peddling and corruption connected to a presidential campaign. Sarkozy’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

GFFN | George Boxall