French former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke looks on outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport prior to his appeal over his 10 year ban from football on October 11, 2017 in Lausanne.

:: Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal proceeding against former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke and Qatar’s beIN Media Chief Executive Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the latest escalation in their ongoing investigation into corruption in soccer.

“It is suspected that Jerome Valcke accepted undue advantages from a businessman in the sports rights sector in connection with the award of media rights for certain countries at the FIFA World Cups in 2018, 2022, 2026 and 2030 and from Nasser Al-Khelaifi in connection with the award of media rights for certain countries at the FIFA World Cups in 2026 and 2030,” Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Thursday.

In March last year, the OAG said Valcke was suspected of criminal mismanagement and other offences. He has denied any wrongdoing.