French prosecutors widen probe into Olympic bids for corruptionMarch 2, 2016 - 09:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French prosecutors have widened their investigation into corruption in athletics to include the bidding and voting processes for the hosting of the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, BBC Sport reports. Lamine Diack, the former president of world governing body the IAAF, is already being investigated by French authorities. He was arrested last year on corruption and money laundering charges, over allegations he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats. Confirming the investigation was being widened, an official from the prosecutor's office said: "We are looking at these elements, but at this stage it is a question of verification. Nothing has been proved." The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has told the BBC it wants to be a party to the French investigations. Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Olympics, defended the voting process when it came under scrutiny in January. And Rio 2016 organizers said on Tuesday, March 1, that the city "won the right to host the Games because it had the best project". "The difference in the votes, 66 to 32 against Madrid, excludes any possibility of an election that could have been rigged," communications director Mario Andrada said. Diack, 82, was head of the International Association of Athletics Federations for 16 years until he stepped down last August. He resigned as an honorary member of the IOC in November - a day after being provisionally suspended by the organization following the start of the French investigation. In December, a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report into alleged IAAF corruption claimed Diack had been prepared to sell his vote to decide on the host city for the 2020 Games in exchange for sponsorship of IAAF events. Diack's son Papa Massata - who was employed by his father as a marketing consultant for the IAAF - is also under investigation, and a warrant for his arrest has been issued by Interpol. Last month, Wada investigators called for a follow-up inquiry into all World Championships awarded by the IAAF for 2009-2019 after finding evidence of possible wrongdoing. Diack Jr has been banned for life by the IAAF, but told the BBC in December he and his father were innocent of the claims against them. Prosecutors are now looking into whether the alleged corruption could have extended to vote-rigging. An IOC spokesman said the organization had been in close contact with French prosecutors since the beginning of this investigation. He added: "The IOC's chief ethics and compliance officer had already asked for the IOC to be fully informed in a timely manner of all issues that may refer to Olympic matters and has already applied to become a party to the investigations led by the French judicial authorities." Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Pasadena to host Armenian Genocide commemoration event The Pasadena Armenian Coalition will host its community-wide Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event. Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Russia confirms start of withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh The Kremlin has confirmed reports about the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh. France recalls its ambassador to Azerbaijan France on April 16 said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan. |