Former IAAF President Diak's bribery case opens
News from this reporter (reporter Chu Peng) On June 8 local time, the hearing of the former IAAF President Rami Diak’s bribery case was held in Paris. Diak is suspected of corruption and money laundering.
Diak from Senegal led the IAAF from 1999 to 2015. As one of the most influential people in this sport, Diac is currently under house arrest in Paris, and if convicted, will face up to 10 years in prison.
The Paris prosecutor accused him of demanding 3.45 million euros ($3.89 million) from athletes suspected of using doping to cover up the drug ban charges and allow them to continue the competition, including participation in the 2012 London Olympics. Regarding the allegations, Diac denied that he was at fault. His lawyer said the allegations were unfounded.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin in January, but the trial was postponed after Diak’s son and co-defendant Passa Massata submitted new documents containing testimony. Senegal is currently refusing to extradite Passa Massata, who was a market consultant for the IAAF. According to the indictment, he also faces charges of money laundering, corruption and breach of trust, and will be tried in absentia.
The other defendants in the case included Diak’s former IAAF lawyer Habib Ciss and Gabriel Doller who was in charge of the IAAF’s doping control; Russians Valentin Barakhnichev and Arab Leksey Melnikov, who was accused of covering up the athletes taking drugs, was the head and head coach of the Russian Federation of Athletics.