Lamine Diack, the longtime president of the World Athletics Federation, is dead. Diack died in his native Senegal on Friday night at the age of 88, as his niece confirmed to the US news agency AP.
From 1999 to 2015 he led the world association and was at the center of numerous scandals.
Last year he was sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended.
There was also a fine of 500,000 euros.
After paying a deposit, Diack was allowed to leave France in May and travel to Senegal.
Diack is said to have demanded hush money from Russian athletes in order to allow them to continue to participate in competitions despite suspicion of doping.
As a result, several athletes were able to start at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and win medals.