PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi faces preliminary charges

Paris Saint-Germain president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has been hit with preliminary charges from a probe into alleged corruption, according to a judiucial official.

The official added that the activities were not linked to the football club, but rather to Al-Khelaifi’s connections with a French businessman.

The preliminary charge sheet includes complicity in the alleged buying of a vote, and complicity in abuse of power to the detriment of the Lagardère media group. Al-Khelaifi has rejected the accusations.

Arnaud Lagardère, in charge of the Lagardère Group, is accused of using more than 100 million euros of the group’s funds for his own expenses over the course of several years.

According to Le Monde newspaper, Al-Khelaifi is thought to have assisted Lagardère in gaining a favourable vote of Qatar Holding LLC at the general meeting of shareholders in 2018.

The preliminary charges mean Al-Khelaifi could be released if an investigation turns up nothing, or formally indicted and sent to trial.