UEFA Wants to Subpoena Josh Kushner as it Seeks Criminal Charges Against Infantino for Failed World Cup Plan

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to raise $4 billion by selling stakes in the World Cup to private investors might be dead — but it hasn’t been forgotten by a key group in international soccer, which wants to question Josh Kushner to help it bring a criminal case against Infantino.

UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, wants to subpoena the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to papers filed Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court.

The group described Josh Kushner and his venture capital firm Thrive Capital as key figures in the deal to create FIFA Forward Enterprises or FFE, which would have given investors “influence” over future World Cups and was expected to be bankrolled by Josh Kushner, according to reports.

“FFE was developed not through FIFA’s member associations or governing bodies, but by a small circle assembled around Infantino—including the very investor expected to lead the acquisition of the stake FIFA proposed to sell,” UEFA said in the court filing.

UEFA said it in the legal filing that it is getting ready to bring a criminal case against Infantino:

…UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code and such further or alternative charges as the developed factual record may support, arising out of the secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing of a transaction that inflicted direct and concrete injury on FIFA’s reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of FIFA as well as its 211 members, including UEFA’s 55 member associations.

Thrive and Kushner are among the small number of counterparties in a position to know, from the investor side, when the transaction was discussed, with whom, on what terms, and what representations were made regarding FIFA’s internal management approvals.

The valuation work exchanged with Thrive, and any internal Thrive analyses of FIFA’s enterprise value, are directly probative of whether the $4.2 billion price reflected an arm’s-length valuation of FIFA’s commercial rights or, as the public record indicates, a fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.

Infantino, 56, who took over FIFA in 2016 from the disgraced Sepp Blatter, just wrapped up a World Cup in North America which brought in $15 billion in revenue.

But his push to bring in $20 billion with a proposal to involve private investors in the tournament angered many and a potential new term as head of FIFA, which should run from 2027 to 2031, is no longer a sure thing.

The next World Cup is set to be held in Morocco in 2030.

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