Former athletics boss Lamine Diack faces new corruption charges
Latest allegations link ex-IAAF president to bribery over cover-ups of Russian doping
French magistrates have filed new, tougher corruption charges against former IAAF president Lamine Diack in connection with cover-ups of Russian doping.
Diack had previously been accused of “passive corruption”, on suspicion he took about €1 million (HK$8.5 million) to cover up positive drug tests by Russian athletes.
Suddenly they are just going to destroy all he’s built over the last 16 years and all the 39 years he’s spent in the IAAF
An official with the Paris financial prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that Diack is now accused of “active corruption”, which generally involves offering money or other promises in exchange for violating a rule.
The official said the new preliminary charges centre on suspicions that Diack bribed Gabriel Dolle, the IAAF’s former anti-doping chief who is also under investigation, to delay reporting of violations by Russian athletes.
The preliminary charges allow magistrates more time to investigate before deciding whether to file formal charges and whether to send a case to trial. Diack, an 82-year-old former long jumper, is free on bail pending further investigation but barred from leaving France.
