Lamine Diack faces corruption, money laundering and breach of trust charges
Lamine Diack, the former head of the governing body for
world athletics, was at the heart of a corruption scam that saw Russian
athletes pay six-figure sums to have their names erased from doping lists,
prosecutors told a French court yesterday.
Wearing a dark grey suit, Diack, 87, who led the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015,
stood before the French judges on the first day of trial as charges of
corruption, money laundering and breach of trust were read out.
Prosecutors allege Diack solicited bribes totalling 3.45
million euros ($3.9 million) from athletes suspected of doping to cover up test
results and let them continue competing, including in the 2012 London Olympics.
They also say Diack obtained $1.5 million of Russian funds
while negotiating sponsorship and television rights to help finance Macky
Sall’s campaign for the 2012 Senegal presidential election, in exchange for
slowing anti-doping procedures.
Diack has previously denied wrongdoing. He spoke yesterday
only to confirm his identity and is due to testify tomorrow.
His lawyer William Bourdon described him as “serene and
determined”.
“The fact financial exchanges took place is not enough on
its own to prove corruption,” Bourdon told reporters at the end of the first
session.
Diack, who has been under house arrest ahead of the trial,
faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
His son, Papa Massata, who fled France for his native
Senegal after the French investigation began, is also accused of playing a role
in the plot, and is being tried in absentia.
The court rejected a request by Papa Massata’s French lawyer
that the trial be postponed because coronavirus border restrictions meant his
Senegalese lawyers could not be present. Senegal has refused to extradite him.
Four other defendants have been charged in the case: Habib
Cisse, Diack’s former lawyer at the IAAF; Gabriel Dollé, who oversaw doping
tests at the IAAF; former head of Russian athletics Valentin Balakhnitchev, and
former Russian athletics’ head coach Alexei Melnikov.
Balakhnitchev and Melnikov were not in court.
Dollé denied taking bribes in order to allow Russian
athletes to compete. He told the court he had agreed only to keep a low profile
on the large number of positive Russian doping tests to help the IAAF find
sponsors.
“Mr Diack had asked me to consider the fact that the IAAF
was in a perilous financial state and needed sponsors,” he told the court.
“There was never any question of allowing the Russian athletes to participate
in international competitions.” ($1 = 0.8862 euros)
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