Japanese Olympic Chief indicted in France on suspicion of corruption


Japanese Olympic Chief indicted in France on suspicion of corruption

The president of Japan’s Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda has been indicted on corruption charges in France after an investigation into the bidding process that led to Tokyo’s successful bid for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Takeda was indicted on December 10 by investigating magistrates looking into a suspect payment of 2.8 million Singapore dollars made before the Japanese capital was chosen to host the Olympics, where it beat Madrid and Istanbul in the 2013 vote.

France’s financial crimes prosecutors have long suspected that the victory was tainted after they uncovered payments linked to Papa Massata Diack, a former marketing official of the International Association of Athletics Federation, and son of former head of the IAAF organisation, Lamine Diack. Diack was at the centre of a number of corruption scandals during his tenure as IAAF president.

71-year-old Takeda, who is a member of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), added that "wrong information that I was indicted has been shared," and pledged he would "cooperate with investigations to clear up any doubts."

Last month, IOC President Thomas Bach formally requested that Senegal cooperate with French authorities investigating the corruption claims.

You may also like

View All

Clean Sport Week, led by UK Anti-Doping, to take place 19–23 May

Clean Sport Week 2025, focused on educating and empowering the next generation of athletes, will begin with an in-person panel event at Manchester Metropolitan University on Monday 19 May. The event will bring together emerging athletes and industry leaders to explore clean sport and the future of fair competition

Read More

PTPA Achieves Initial Success in Case Against ATP Tour

The Professional Tennis Players’ Association, founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, has been moderately successful in its lawsuit against the men’s ATP Tour

Read More

Sport Resolutions Annual Conference 2025 in association with Winston & Strawn LLP is now Sold Out

We’re excited to share that the Sport Resolutions Annual Conference 2025 has reached full capacity!

Read More

Newsletter Signup

Please enter your email address below: