France: Qatari Charged With Bribery In Bid To Host Championship

News

French prosecutors filed bribery charges against Yousef al-Obaidly, a Qatari media executive, this week for what they say was an attempt to bring the World Track and Field Championships to Qatar.

Related Articles

Calls for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine’s Post-War Rebuild
As Ukraine looks toward recovery from the ongoing conflict, international partners and reform advocates call for embedding anti-corruption measures in post-war restoration efforts.
Mining Crimes Pose a Challenge for Law Enforcement, Experts Say
A recent report found that only one in three of environmental crime cases in the Amazon produced a parallel financial crime investigation from authorities.
Kyrgyz Elite Targeted as Japarov Allies Gain Key Assets
After the killing of crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev, Kyrgyz authorities have intensified their crackdown on prominent business figures suspected of financing organized crime. But is it justice—or something else?
Calls for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine’s Post-War Rebuild
As Ukraine looks toward recovery from the ongoing conflict, international partners and reform advocates call for embedding anti-corruption measures in post-war restoration efforts.
Mining Crimes Pose a Challenge for Law Enforcement, Experts Say
A recent report found that only one in three of environmental crime cases in the Amazon produced a parallel financial crime investigation from authorities.
Kyrgyz Elite Targeted as Japarov Allies Gain Key Assets
After the killing of crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev, Kyrgyz authorities have intensified their crackdown on prominent business figures suspected of financing organized crime. But is it justice—or something else?

Reported by

Samuel Trilling
May 23rd, 2019
Bribery Sports

Prosecutors connect him to an affair revealed in 2016 by Le Monde newspaper which obtained records showing that US$3.5 million was paid by a Qatari investment fund to a company owned by Papa Massata Diack, the son of the President of the International Association of Athletics (IAAF), Lamine Diack.

Lamine Diack is currently on house arrest after charges were filed against him on Monday in France. Senegalese government officials have reportedly denied extradition requests.

“Under the leadership of its president and over the course of several years of wrongdoing, the IAAF managed to combine corruption with the encouragement of doping,” the prosecutors wrote in the indictment.

Diack has been investigated for several doping scandals, in which he took bribes from Russia to cover up athletes’ use of performance enhancing drugs.

The alleged bribe-giver, Al-Obaidly, is the CEO of multi-billion dollar beIN media group, which owns sports channels throughout the world and the US-based film company Miramax.

“The allegations raised are not only utterly baseless and unsubstantiated, but they have been — quite remarkably — leaked to the media. For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, the allegations are completely and categorically denied and will be vehemently challenged using the full force of the law,” al-Obaidly said in a public statement.

Qatar will host the Track and Field Championships this fall, failing to secure the bid for the 2017 event. They will also host the World Cup in 2022, a choice that FIFA officials came under fire for.

Related Reporting