Tue, June 25, 2019
Ex IAAF President, Lamine Diack facing trial on corruption charges
The former president of the International Association of Athletics Federation is to stand trial in France on charges of corruption and money laundering.
The 86-year-old who was head of the World governing body of Athletics for 16 years has been under investigation for four years over allegations of bribery when he took payment for covering up Russian doping cases.
It is suspected that Diack, a former mayor of Dakar, Senegal, used the money to fund political campaigns as well as his lavish lifestyle based in Monaco, home of the IAAF. Diack’s son, Papa Massata Diack, is also thought to be involved and facing charges albeit fleeing to Senegal and refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Both deny all charges.
Russian athletics chief and IAAF treasurer Valentin Balakhnichev, Russia's ex-national middle-distance coach Alexei Melnikov, Diack's former adviser Habib Cisse and the IAAF's ex-anti-doping boss Gabriel Dolle, also face prosecution. It is alleged that all named individuals had a part to play in assisting the state-sponsored Russian doping scandal and are now looking to face penalties.
