Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is under investigation for corruption related to Qatar’s bids to host the world athletics championships, a judicial official said on Thursday.
Al-Khelaifi, who owns BeIN Sports, has been placed under investigation by judge Renad van Ruymbeke, who is also investigating Rio and Tokyo’s bids for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games respectively.
Two payments totalling $3.5 million made in 2011 are under scrutiny.
London won the bidding to host the championships in 2017, but Qatar is hosting this year’s championships in September-October.
It is alleged that the payments were made by Oryx Qatar Sports Investment – a firm jointly owned by Nasser Al-Khelaifi and his brother Khalid – to a firm run by the son of Lamine Diack, ex-president of the IAAF, the world athletics governing body.
Lamine Diack, 85, was charged with corruption in March in relation to the case, while an arrest warrant has been issued for his Senegal-based son, Papa Massata Diack. Lamine Diack was IAAF chief in 1999-2015.
Al-Khelaifi, who is from Qatar, denies any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Francis Szpiner, said the payments made in 2011 were “perfectly tracked” and added his client was not involved in the money transfer.
The chief executive officer of beIN, Yousef Al-Obaidly, was also handed preliminary charges of corruption, while former IAAF president Lamine Diack is suspected of “passive corruption” in the same case.
BeIN media group declined to comment on the case because it said it “doesn’t relate in any way to the company.”
Investigative magistrate Renaud Van Ruymbeke based his suspicion on documents showing that a company owned by a former IAAF official received two payments totaling about $3.5 million from Qatari investors before the vote for the 2017 track world championships. Qatar eventually lost to London but was later awarded the 2019 worlds. The championships will be held in Doha from September 27 to October 6.
The two payments from Oryx Qatar Sports Investments, an investment fund linked to the Qatari government, were made to Pamodzi Sports Marketing in October and November 2011, days before the vote.
Pamodzi was founded by one of Diack’s sons, Papa Massata Diack. A former marketing consultant at the IAAF, he has been banned for allegations of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Russian marathon runner to avoid a doping ban before the 2012 Olympics. France has issued a wanted notice for him via Interpol.
In his statement, Al-Khelaifi’s lawyer said the payments made by Oryx to the IAAF’s appointed agent were transparent.
“Pamodzi was mandated by Japanese company Dentsu/AMS to manage the IAAF’s marketing rights in so-called emerging countries,” he said, adding that only $300,000 was ultimately kept by Pamodzi.
“Of this $3.5 million relating in particular to the television broadcasting rights and sponsoring rights for the world athletics championships which are of interest to the judge, $1.9 million was immediately transferred by Pamodzi to Dentsu/AMS, and $1.3 million to the IAAF. A total of $3.2 million was repaid by Pamodzi, which retained $0.3 million as Pamodzi’s remuneration for its contribution.”
Anthony Nlebem
