ZURICH – A Swiss parliamentary panel has recommended against re-electing Attorney General Michael Lauber following undocumented meetings he held with world soccer body
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Swiss public TV SRF reported on
Wednesday.
The Judicial Committee decided against Lauber by a margin of
9-6 and will give its recommendation to parliament members who
vote on Sept. 25 whether to give him another term as the
nation's most senior prosecutor.
Lauber held at least three confidential meetings in 2016 and
2017 with Infantino amid his office's investigation of several
cases of suspected corruption surrounding Zurich-based FIFA,
though the prosecutor has defended his office's handling of the
case and called a disciplinary probe an attack on his office's
independence.
"The Federal Prosecutor's Office has taken note of the
decision of the court commission," his office said in a
statement following the vote. "Michael Lauber maintains his
candidacy for the 2020-2023 term."
In June, another Swiss court stripped Lauber of his
authority in the case when it ordered him to recuse himself from
the federal prosecutors' investigation into corruption in world
soccer, ruling that his closed-door meetings with Infantino
raised the appearance of bias.
Prosecutors remaining on the case in August filed fraud
charges against three former senior German soccer officials and
one Swiss over a suspect payment linked to the 2006 World Cup
hosted by Germany, the Swiss Attorney General's office said on
Tuesday.
Swiss parliament could still discount the recommendation and
re-elect Lauber, who was elevated to the AG post in 2012.