Three German organizers of the 2006 World Cup were charged with tax evasion linked to a payment to FIFA. German news agency dpa reported that Theo Zwanziger, Wolfgang Niersbach and Horst R. Schmidt were indicted by Frankfurt prosecutors in a long-running investigation. All three deny the charges, which were first reported by German daily Bild
Beckenbauer, Zwanziger and Niersbach were members of FIFA’s executive committee in turn from 2007 through 2016. In 2016, the DFB published an inquiry report into a complex payments trail including 6.7 million euros ($7.8 million) to FIFA in April 2005.
Swiss prosecutors opened a criminal proceeding against the three German officials the previous year, on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. The various investigations have tarnished the reputation of the 2006 World Cup that was a popular success.