Police raid Paris Olympics HQ in anti-corruption probe ahead of 2024 Games
Police officers have raided the headquarters of the 2024 Paris Olympics organisers as part of an anti-corruption investigation.
A Paris 2024 spokesperson said on Tuesday morning: "A police search is currently under way at the headquarters of the Organising Committee. Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the investigators to facilitate their inquiries."
The search was ordered by France's national financial prosecutor's office, and began soon after 9am. No further details were revealed. The Olympics will be held in Paris over July and August next year, with the Paralympic Games taking place between August and September.
Paris is the third straight Summer Olympics organiser implicated in investigations led by anti-corruption authorities in the French capital. Vote-buying allegations linked to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Games previously removed several members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from that organisation.
An official with the financial prosecutor's office said the searches are linked to two investigations based on information provided by an anti-corruption agency. One of the probes was opened in 2017 - the year Paris was chosen by the IOC as 2024 host - into suspected embezzlement of public funds and favouritism, and concerns about an unspecified contract agreed by the Paris organisers, the prosecutor's office said.
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The other was opened in 2022 following an audit by the French anti-corruption agency. The prosecutor's office said that case targets suspected conflict of interest and favouritism involving several contracts agreed by the organising committee and Solideo, the company in charge of Olympic facilities.
A Paris 2024 spokesperson said they are fully cooperating with the investigation (AP)News of the raid comes amid the start of a two-day IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, with preparation for next year's Olympics and Paralympics set to dominate the agenda. IOC president Thomas Bach told reporters on Monday the meeting "of course will be about Paris, where we have some good news after the visit of the co-ordination mission and after my visit to France, to President [Emmanuel] Macron, and also the organising committee."
A spokesperson for the IOC said of the raid: "We are aware that there has been a search by police of the Paris 2024 headquarters today. We have been informed by Paris 2024, that they are cooperating fully with the authorities in this matter and we would refer you to them for further information."
Paris beat bids from Hamburg, Budapest, Rome and Los Angeles to be named host for next year's Olympics, with Los Angeles given the 2028 games. Brisbane have also been announced as hosts of the 2032 Olympic Games.
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