STOCKHOLM: French soccer star Kylian Mbappe's lawyer said on Thursday that Swedish prosecutors had dropped a rape and sexual assault investigation concerning her client.
The Real Madrid and French national team striker had denied any wrongdoing in the case over alleged incidents at a hotel in central Stockholm on Oct. 10.
The prosecutors have not publicly named the suspect in the case but said on Thursday they had dropped their probe of the alleged incidents in Stockholm due to insufficient evidence.
"I confirm," Mbappe's lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, wrote in a text message when asked by Reuters whether the Swedish investigation of the soccer player had been shut.
Canu-Bernard said she would comment on the matter later on Thursday.
In a statement issued earlier, Swedish Senior Prosecutor Marina Chirakova said: "During the course of the investigation, there has been a designated person suspected on reasonable grounds of rape and two cases of sexual assault."
"But my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is therefore closed," she said.
Swedish court documents obtained by Reuters showed the alleged victim had decided not to participate further in the investigation, prompting the prosecutor to drop the probe.
"The evidence secured in the investigation is not in itself sufficient to complete the preliminary investigation in light of the fact that the plaintiff no longer wishes to participate in the investigation," Chirakova wrote in a decision handed to Stockholm District Court.
The lawyer for the plaintiff declined to comment.
The investigation had followed normal procedures, according to Chirakova.
The "designated person" in the case had not been notified that they were a crime suspect, she said.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT and dailies Expressen and Aftonbladet, citing unnamed sources, had reported in October that Mbappe was the suspect in the case.
Mbappe's representatives said at the time the allegations against him were "totally false" and "a slanderous rumour".
Following Thursday's announcement by the Swedish prosecution authority, Mbappe's club Real Madrid said they would not comment on the case. His PR firm did not immediately respond to Reuters messages seeking comment.
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