By GRAHAM DUNBAR, AP Sports Writer<\/p>\n
MONACO (AP) \u2014 UEFA is preparing a criminal complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Swiss courts for possible financial mismanagement over his\u00a0failed plan to sell future World Cup profits<\/a>\u00a0to private investors.<\/p>\n UEFA said Thursday it filed documents in a Manhattan court requesting discovery of potential evidence from the New York investment fund, Thrive Capital Management, founded by Joshua Kushner.<\/p>\n UEFA also filed a request in a southern Florida district for authorization of discovery \u201cin a foreign proceeding\u201d against FIFA itself, which has offices in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables.<\/p>\n Thrive and Kushner were to be the anchor investors intending to pay FIFA $4.2 billion for a 20% stake in a subsidiary that would run the soccer body\u2019s commercial events, including the World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cUEFA and its counsel are contemplating a Swiss criminal proceeding against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code,\u201d UEFA\u2019s lawyers state in a 56-page document seen by The Associated Press.<\/p>\n The document suggests the $4.2 billion figure could be a \u201cfraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n FIFA is expected to have about $5 billion in cash reserves after the World Cup in North America boosted its revenue to a record $15 billion over the 2023-26 commercial cycle.<\/p>\n Infantino dropped the sell-off plan on Aug. 1 after a furious backlash by global soccer leaders, including UEFA.<\/p>\n UEFA had warned against destroying potential evidence<\/p>\n UEFA first threatened to take legal action\u00a0on Aug. 3<\/a>\u00a0when it warned FIFA against destroying or hiding any \u201crelevant materials\u201d related to the plan. Thursday\u2019s legal move was revealed to its member federations in Monaco just two hours before the Champions League draw began.<\/p>\n \u201cInfantino claimed that the plan would \u2018unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has,\u2019\u201d UEFA lawyers told the courts. \u201cIn truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from FIFA\u2019s most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members, and other parties within the football family.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the terms Infantino announced, those investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in FIFA\u2019s commercial arm for $4.2 billion, implying an absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20 billion, a figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer.\u201d<\/p>\n Thrive declined to comment. FIFA was approached for comment.<\/p>\n Swiss prosecutors\u2019 poor results in FIFA trials<\/p>\n It was unclear if UEFA would send a potential criminal complaint to the Swiss federal prosecution office in Bern or to local prosecutors in FIFA\u2019s home city Zurich.<\/p>\n The Swiss attorney general\u2019s office has a poor record in recent years prosecuting cases of alleged corruption linked to FIFA and soccer officials.<\/p>\n Former FIFA president\u00a0Sepp Blatter, former UEFA president Michel Platini<\/a>\u00a0and the influential\u00a0Qatari president of Champions League<\/a>\u00a0title holder Paris Saint-Germain,\u00a0Nasser al-Khela\u00effi<\/a>, all were acquitted twice at trials in Switzerland.<\/p>\n