Qatar's Nasser al-Khelaifi, president of the Paris St. Germain football club, is under formal investigation for corruption, a French judicial source said according to Reuters.
Al-Khelaifi and a close associate were questioned by French investigators in March in relation to the bidding process for the 2017 athletics world championships, a second source said.
The football club, which won this year's top-flight league in France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The judge’s decision means Khelaifi is now formally treated as a suspect and takes the legal process one step closer to trial. Under French law, however, a suspect is not formally charged with a crime unless he is sent to trial.
On Wednesday, the chief executive officer of media group beIN and a close ally of Al-Khelaifi was handed preliminary charges of corruption as part of an investigation into the bidding process for the 2017 and 2019 track world championships.
Yousef Al-Obaidly was indicted on March 28.
Al-Obaidly is also a board member of PSG. He denies any wrongdoing.
