FIFA has reportedly been paying its embattled chief Gianni Infantino’s US taxes, with the bill expected to reach about $4 million, without publicly disclosing the funds — despite promises of transparency.
A three-person committee for world soccer’s governing body, which included a friend of Infantino’s, decided in 2024 to foot the tax bill as Infantino moved from low-tax Switzerland to Miami, Fla., where higher taxes awaited, the New York Times reported Monday.
The friend, FIFA’s chief of governance, audit and compliance Bruno Chiomento, reportedly argued to a committee that Infantino should get his US taxes covered since the body was doing that for around a dozen staffers heading to the US ahead of last summer’s World Cup.
The two other members of the committee agreed, but never disclosed the decision in filings, according to the article.
Chiomento, the former chairman of Ernst & Young’s Swiss unit, reportedly sought advice from Infantino’s personal attorney David Zollinger about the decision. Senior FIFA officials questioned the decision and the message it sent, in addition to having concerns about the potential conflict of interest around Infantino and Zollinger’s relationship, according to the Times.
FIFA is reportedly poised to pay about $4 million in US taxes for Infantino by the time his three-year American stint is over.
The organization has also covered annual rent of $600,000 for his Miami home, along with pads in Switzerland and Paris, according to the Times.
“All FIFA’s internal regulations and processes, and all applicable laws, have been followed,” FIFA told the Times. “FIFA ensures all reporting and taxation requirements are met.”
It added that pay to senior management gets independently audited.
FIFA adopted new transparency rules in the wake of a 2015 corruption scandal in which the Justice Department charged over 40 soccer officials.
Infantino came to power in the aftermath, the Times noted.
Over the summer, he came under fire for trying to sell off the World Cup for $4.2 billion.
Outrage from soccer officials around the world prompted Infantino to scarp the plan, as The Post first reported, with the FIFA boss promising an independent audit of how the organization functions and makes decisions.
Infantino has also faced criticism for breaking the global soccer body’s own rules and undoing a World Cup red card for US star Folarin Balogun following a phone call with President Trump, as The Post reported.
After recently celebrating his 10-year anniversary as president, Infantino is up for reelection in March.
The Post has sought comment from FIFA, Infantino and Chiomento.
