14 January 2016•Update: 15 January 2016
BERLIN
An independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency has accused the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Lamine Diack, of corruption, according to a report published Thursday.
The commission said in its 89-page report that Diack and his close associates allegedly formed an informal governance structure within the world athletics body and breached anti-doping rules; it also accused them of being involved in conspiracy and corruption.
"The information of the independent commission very clearly indicates that the disruption of the federation emanated from the very top, the president, Lamine Diack," Professor Richard McLaren of the WADA’s independent commission said at a press conference in the southern German city of Munich.
"We had, in the course of our overseeing the investigation, discovered certain events that the conduct of the employed individuals within or associated with the IAAF went beyond sporting corruption and have been in criminal in nature," McLaren said.
Doping tests cover up
According to the report, several individuals allegedly covered up several doping results in exchange for money from the athletes.
"It is hugely disturbing that individuals at the highest levels of the IAAF were abetting and covering up doping for their own financial gain," WADA President Sir Craig Reedie said.
"This flagrant disregard for the law and anti-doping rules undermines trust amongst clean athletes, and indeed the public, worldwide. Given their criminal nature, the actions of these individuals are now in the hands of the French justice system," he added.
The report also revealed information that showed Diack and his close associates might have also had personal gains from sponsorship and marketing rights, and from the selection procedures for IAAF world championships.
Doubts over 2020 Olympic Games
According to the report, Diack, who was also a member of the International Olympic Committee, might have also been involved in corruption in the selection of the city for the 2020 summer Olympic Games.
"Transcripts of the various discussions between Turkish individuals with KD [Lamine Diack’s son Khalil Diack, independent consultant of IAAF] make reference to a discussion regarding the Olympic city bidding process for the 2020 summer Olympic Games,” the report said.
“It is stated that Turkey lost Lamine Diack’s support because they did not pay sponsorship moneys of $4 to $5 million either to the Diamond League or IAAF.
"According the transcript the Japanese did pay such a sum. The 2020 Games were awarded to Tokyo," it said, adding that the independent commission did not investigate this matter further, because it was not within its remit.
Asked about possible wider corruption in selection of Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games, commission President Richard W. Pound said this did not seem plausible.
“We have done enormous…as you know since 1999 to make sure that that cannot happen. If there is going to be individual bits of corruption, I mean, you cannot stop all that. But organizationally I don’t think that that’s an issue with the Olympic,” he said, but added:
“And we do not know for sure about the IAAF. We had reports from people seem to know what they are talking about. And we wrote that to the attention of the IAAF and have recommended that they take a vigorous forensic look at it, to see whether there is anything to the allegations."
