This morning (November 3) over 50 police investigators began a raid at the headquarters of the German FA (DFB - Deutscher Fußballbund) in Frankfurt and at private residences of the former and the current presidents of the FA Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach and other officials. The prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt suspects them of serious tax evasion.

The defendants are accused of causing the submission of inaccurate tax returns as part of their former responsibilities. According to the current state of knowledge, the Organisation Committee made a payment of 6.7 million Euros towards FIFA and wrongly declared it as a cost-sharing in a cultural program as part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup (which would be a tax deductible expense), although it was actually paid for another purpose.

The former DFB President Theo Zwanziger has accused his successor as DFB president, Wolfgang Niersbach, of lying to the media about a slush fund allegedly used for Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid in a “Spiegel” (who started panic at the DFB with an article a few weeks ago) article about the World Cup 2006 bid.