French authorities say beIN refusing to collaborate

CAIRO – 17 October 2017: The French prosecution revealed on Monday that beIN Sport refused to provide the data required for the completion of investigations launched against the company’s chairperson, Nasser al-Khelaifi, over allegedly bribing FIFA to unlawfully receive the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2026 and 2030 World Cup, DPA reported.

On Thursday, Swiss federal prosecutors announced a bribery inquiry against Khelaifi, the Qatari president of Paris Saint-Germain.

As part of the international judicial cooperation, French investigators had inspected the beIN Paris office on Monday, confirming that Qatari officials in charge did not facilitate the investigators' work and refused them access to data they had requested, which currently exists in the head office in Qatar.

The office of Switzerland's attorney general said that the alleged bribery was received by former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke to enable beIN to have the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2026 and 2030 World Cups. The legal action was primarily triggered in March 2016 as part of criminal investigations launched on FIFA’s business practices.