A statement from the prosecutors claimed the investigation will be looking into suspicions of “serious tax evasion” in respect of the 2006 World Cup and the money which was transferred between the two parties.
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The 70-year-old was head of the organising committee for the 2006 World Cup having successfully led the bid to bring the tournament to Germany.
DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach, his predecessor Theo Zwanziger and the association’s former General Secretary Horst Schmidt are suspected of tax evasion over the payment, prosecutors said in a statement.
Prosecutors in Frankfurt had been weighing up whether to press charges against members of the 2006 World Cup organising committee following slush fund allegations first published by German news weekly Der Spiegel in mid-October.
“The accusations are pointed at the president of the DFB and former vice-president of the organisational committee, the president of the DFB in the year 2006 and treasurer of the organisational committee at that time as well as the former general secretary of the DFB”.
Beckenbauer said last week that it was his mistake to make the payment to Federation Internationale de Football Association.
Where the parties disagree is on when Louis-Dreyfus made the original loan of 10 million Swiss francs – and what the funds were used for.
“In order to receive a financial subsidy from Federation Internationale de Football Association, it was agreed to accept a recommendation from FIFA’s finance committee, which from today’s perspective, should have been rejected”, he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
In May, 14 football officials and sports marketing executives were indicted by the US Department of Justice on charges of “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted” corruption.
The 71-year-old former West Germany midfielder was an ambassador for the 2006 World Cup and has taken legal action to prevent Zwanziger from making further comments about him.
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This relates to a £1.35m payment made to UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011 for advisory work carried out between 1998 and 2002.
