ZURICH: The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court is in line to be appointed as FIFA’s first head of the new ethics committee’s investigations arm.

Luis-Moreno Ocampo, 66, who has led investigations into a number of war crimes cases is standing down from his ICC position in The Hague next month.

The Argentinian is expected to be confirmed as the chairman of the FIFA ethics committee investigations chamber next month, and would be responsible for investigating any allegations of corruption or ethics rule breaches.

Four people were shortlisted as candidates but Ocampo has emerged as the top choice.

Ocampo is a renowned lawyer who made his name prosecuting members of the Argentina junta who were found guilty of organising the disappearance of thousands of political opponents during the 1970s and 80s.

He was appointed as the first chief prosecutor of the ICC in 2003, and has been responsible for bringing charges against a number of people accused of war crimes and human rights abuses including Mohammad Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam and former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo.

FIFA is  splitting its  ethics committee into two bodies, each with an independent chairman, as part of the reforms of the world governing body.

The investigations chamber will be responsible for bringing charges, and the other chamber for judging the cases. FIFA had identified a judge to chair the other chamber but a serious medical condition has led to a postponement of an announcement.

The ICC is separate from the special UN courts that have brought war crimes charges against Serbian leaders, and ex-Liberia president Charles Taylor.

In an interview in The Times last week, Ocampo said he had been against the Falklands War, adding “I don’t like wars”. He also spoke about being cleared of an allegation of sexual harassment four years ago, saying: “It’s regrettable, and it’s not nice to be accused publicly that you commit crimes, but it’s part of the job.”

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