He publicly criticized the human rights record of the oil-rich Gulf country. He challenged the wisdom of hosting the most popular sporting event in the desert heat.
Zwanziger once stated that “the infinite wealth of the small country of Qatar spreads almost as a cancer through soccer and sport.” He was a member of FIFA’s executive board and urged the governing body of world soccer to reverse its 2010 decision.
Zwanziger’s criticism was so alarming to the Qatari government, they took immediate action. According to internal documents, The Associated Press reviewed company records and found that the Qatari government paid more than $10million to a company staffed with former CIA operatives. The company was involved in a multiyear covert operation called “Project Riverbed.”
According to records, the purpose of the operation was spycraft to silence Zwanziger. It was unsuccessful.
Zwanziger said in an interview with the AP that it was a strange feeling to be involved in sport, and to the values of the sport, and to be followed and influenced.
Qatar World Cup is scheduled to begin in November. It’s the culmination more than 12 years of hard work and untold millions spent to propel the small desert nation onto the international stage.
Since its inception, the endeavor has been plagued by corruption allegations and other wrongdoing. In 2020, U.S. prosecutors claimed that bribes had been paid by FIFA executive committee members in order to win their votes. Qatar denies any wrongdoing.
AP has reviewed documents that provide additional details on Qatar’s efforts in securing the tournament. These include the country’s collaboration with Kevin Chalker, a former CIA officer, and Global Risk Advisors. These documents are based on AP’s earlier reporting regarding Chalker’s work in Qatar.
Officials from Qatar did not respond to our requests for comment.
Chalker stated in a statement GRA worked on Project Riverbed. However, he said that it was only a media monitoring project, staffed by interns, and supervised by one full time employee who was responsible for summarizing and reading news articles.
Chalker stated that “The AP’s reporting on this article is based upon false information from unidentified source.”
David Wells, Chalker’s spokesperson, said that he could not reveal the identity of Project Riverbed’s client or give other details such as the length of the project or the names and addresses of employees involved. Brian Ascher, Chalker’s lawyer, stated that Zwanziger wasn’t the subject of any covert influence campaign by GRA.
The records examined by AP show otherwise.
Project Riverbed’s primary goal was to counter Theo Zwanziger’s criticisms of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and his attempts at compel FIFA take the World Cup away from Qatar,” a GRA document reviewed in the AP stated.
The AP examined hundreds of pages of documents from Chalker companies, including a budget document and memos. Multiple sources granted access to the documents were provided to the AP by authorized sources. Sources said that they were disturbed by Chalker’s work for Qatar. They requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
To verify authenticity of the documents, the AP took several steps. This included confirming the details of documents from different sources, such former Chalker associates, as well as examining electronic documents’ metadata or digital history to confirm who created them and when.
The Riverbed documents show the powerful spying that private contractors such as Chalker can do for wealthy countries like Qatar, which lack an independent intelligence agency. This trend has led some members of Congress propose new restrictions on the work U.S. intelligence officers can do after retirement.
has sued Chalker for being a former fundraiser for Donald Trump. He is accused of leading a massive hacking and spying campaign in Qatar. In court filings, Broidy claims that GRA and Chalker targeted Zwanziger in a covert influence campaign similar to the one described by the AP. The legal team of Chalker has argued that the lawsuit is without merit. A judge dismissed Broidy’s entire complaint and left the case open for further proceedings.
Project Riverbed was in operation from January 2012 to mid 2014 and “successfully used complex traditional intelligence tradecrafts to target individuals within Zwanziger’s circle of influence, and modify sentiment associated to the Qatar World Cup,” according a summary document that the AP reviewed.
This was actually a way to create an “influencer network” of people who were close to the German soccer official and would relay to him views favorable to Qatar hosting the World Cup. GRA would send an “influencer” or “source” to talk to these influencers. This was, according to internal documents.
The report stated that “these interactions lasted seconds to minutes or hours.” The report stated that regardless of how long it took, the interactions always conveyed a consistent message: Qatar’s 2022 World Cup was good news for business, brought together the West and Middle East, and was good news for the whole world.
GRA reported that there were “thousands of” interactions with Zwanziger’s network and that it used a multi-pronged approach focused on four targets: FIFA and its associates and the German soccer federation. Zwanziger would then unwittingly pass on the pro-Qatar message to Zwanziger.
Hans-Jorg Metz Zwanziger’s lawyer, stated to the AP that “This is definitely something that goes well beyond anything we expected.”
Zwanziger was an easy target due to his important role in soccer’s governing body. Zwanziger, a lawyer by profession, was well-respected for his leadership of reforms at the German soccer federation. This is one of the largest sports associations in the world.
He had strong opinions about Qatar hosting the World Cup and didn’t hesitate to share them.
“I couldn’t understand this decision. Zwanziger stated in 2013 that it was one of the greatest mistakes in sports.
Zwanziger wasn’t the only FIFA high-ranking official to be targeted by Qatar-funded spying.
According to new records, Chalker was also responsible for spying on Amos Adamu, a former member of FIFA’s executive committee. This was according to records that were reviewed by the AP. The new records reveal that multiple surveillance teams were used to secretly photograph Adamu as well as people he was with over several days. According to records, this effort included the acquisition of Adamu’s cell phone records as well as recruiting a security guard at a hotel and a journalist from locality to serve as sources.
Adamu was twice banned by FIFA for unethical conduct. Adamu declined to comment.
Chalker denied being part of an attempt to spy on Adamu.
The documents reveal that Chalker employed case officers in Germany and London for Project Riverbed. Some of these people had previously worked with the CIA.
GRA records contain opaque, florid language that seems to have been taken straight from a spy book. GRA would create “Cover for Action” entities to allow GRA staff to operate undercover. They also created “White” (official and non-official) offices to manage administrative tasks. In his lawsuit, Broidy also claims that subterfugee efforts were made against Zwanziger.
GRA records show that Project Riverbed was originally approved for a budget of $27 million. However, GRA records also indicate that Qatar had not paid all of its payments on time and delayed with them. According to documents, staff turnover was caused by a lack of funds, as well as wasted expenditures such legal and administrative fees that were required for the establishment of offices that were never used.
GRA declared Riverbed a success despite the financial constraints.
According to the executive report, Zwanziger’s criticisms had been “softened” by the project and Zwanziger’s “sentiment has been altered to the point that he is no threat to Qatar’s 2022 World Cup retention.”
“Zwanziger believes Qatar should keep the 2022 World Cup to increase international awareness of the conditions of migrant workers in Qatar and push for substantial reforms of Qatari workers and human rights,” GRA states in its executive summary.
The company was incorrect.
Riverbed reached the conclusion that Zwanziger was now on our side. Zwanziger spoke with AP in an interview.
Zwanziger claimed that Qatar is “a cancer in world football” during a radio interview in June 2015. This was one year after “Project Riverbed” was supposed to have been completed.
The Qatar Football Association filed a civil suit against Zwanziger to prevent him from making similar comments in the future. Dusseldorf’s Regional Court dismissed the case, ruling Zwanziger had the right to free speech.
Zwanziger faced more legal problems later, when he and other members of the German 2006 World Cup organizing Committee were subject to corruption investigations in Frankfurt and Switzerland. Zwanziger denied any wrongdoing, and in August 2019, he accused Swiss prosecutors for deliberately misinterpreting evidence. The Swiss trial was closed in April 2020 without a verdict.
Zwanziger stated that it was vindicating to learn that he was the victim of a failed manipulation campaign.
