Papa Massata Diack, the son of the disgraced former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Lamine Diack, was charged with taking bribe money from Doha, Qatar, during their campaign to bid on the 2019 IAAF World Track and Field Championships starting on Sept. 28.
The two Senegalize criminals have both been charged and accused of various crimes including extorting athletes who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and money laundering.
The extent of their criminal activity reached one of the most powerful men in sport, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of the 1-Ligue football club Paris Saint-Germain. He has been charged with corruption over Doha’s bid for the world championships, according to a French judicial official.
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As reported by the Associated Press, the official said the preliminary charge of “active corruption” had been filed in mid-May.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she was not authorised to talk about the investigation publicly.
Al-Khelaifi is also the chief executive of Paris Saint-Germain, the Ligue 1 club owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, as well as chairman of television network beIN Sports, which has its headquarters in Doha.
He was recently elected by the European Club Association as club representative on UEFA’s Executive Committee.
In March he was reportedly placed under the status of “assisted witness” by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office for alleged “corruption” and “aggravated money laundering” in relation to Doha’s bid for the IAAF World Championships.
At the heart of the investigators’ suspicions are two bank transfers, French newspaper Le Monde has reported.
These money transfers were allegedly made on October 13 and November 7 in 2011 for a total amount of $3.5 million (£2.8 million/€3.1 million) to a company located in Senegal, Pamodzi Sports Consulting, which is owned by Papa Massata Diack, the son of former IAAF President Lamine Diack.
These payments were provided for in a Memorandum of Understanding with Pamodzi Sports Consulting that Oryx Qatar Sports Investments pledged to purchase sponsorship rights and television rights for $32.6 million (£25.8 million/€29.3 million) provided that Doha was awarded the 2017 IAAF World Championships.
It is claimed that Oryx Qatar Sports Investments is not part of QSI.