Qatar 2022: French prosecutors seek Bin Hammam trial

France’s financial prosecutor’s office has asked investigating judges to send former Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam and three other people to trial over alleged corruption linked to the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

The request is part of a Paris probe launched in 2019 into the role Bin Hammam allegedly played in actions by Reynald Temarii, the former president of the Oceania Football Confederation, before the December 2, 2010 vote that awarded the tournament to Qatar.

Investigating judges must now decide whether to send the case to trial.

The prosecutor’s office wants Bin Hammam and Temarii tried for “passive private corruption.” It also wants consultant Jean-Charles Brisard and Geraldine Lesieur, Temarii’s former lawyer and Brisard’s ex-wife, tried for “fraud and receiving the proceeds of corruption.”

Bin Hammam has been banned for life from football following accusations of corruption and conflicts of interest. A Paris magistrate issued an international arrest warrant for him three years ago.

Temarii had been suspended by FIFA from its executive committee for breaching its code of ethics before the World Cup host vote. Bin Hammam paid 305,000 euros, or $323,000, for Temarii’s defence costs after Temarii appealed, preventing the Oceania confederation from appointing a replacement who would have voted for Australia rather than Qatar.

Temarii told AFP in October 2022 that he had been the “victim of fraud.”