LONDON — Nasser al-Khelaifi, a Qatari businessman who has grown to become one of the most prominent figures in soccer, was accused by the Swiss authorities on Thursday of bribing the former FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke in return for lucrative World Cup soccer contracts.
Khelaifi, a leading figure in Qatar’s multibillion-dollar push into global sports, is the chairman of the Paris St.-Germain soccer team and the chief executive of the beIN Media Group, a Doha-based television network that the Swiss accuse of bribing Valcke, who is currently serving a 10-year ban from world soccer.
In its statement, the Swiss attorney general’s office said it had opened a case in March 2017 against Khelaifi, Valcke and an unidentified businessman on suspicion of bribery, fraud and criminal mismanagement.