Former Rio de Janeiro governor tells judge he paid $2 million bribe to host 2016 Olympics

By Rodrigo Viga Gaier

 

FILE PHOTO: Rio de Janeiro 2016 President Carlos Nuzman, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral (L-R) celebrate during a news conference following the signing of the host city contract after Rio de Janeiro was announced as the winning city bid for the 2016 Olympic Games at the 121st IOC session in Copenhagen October 2, 2009. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File photo

 

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The former governor of Rio de Janeiro state said in court testimony on Thursday that he paid $2 million (1.59 million pounds) to buy votes to ensure the sprawling Brazilian seaside city would be chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

 

Sergio Cabral told a judge the money went to Lamine Diack, the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and was used to buy as many as nine votes. It was not immediately possible to reach Diack or his legal team on Thursday night.

 

The head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the main organizer of the bid, Arthur Nuzman, introduced a representative of Rio 2016 to Diack and asked him to make the payments ahead of the 2009 vote that saw Rio win out over Madrid, Chicago and Tokyo, Cabral told a federal judge.

 

"Nuzman came to me and said, Sergio, I want tell you about the president of the International Athletics Federation, IAAF, Lamine Diack, he's someone who is open to taking bribes," Cabral said.

 

Prosecutors in Brazil charged Nuzman in October 2017 with paying the $2 million in bribes to secure Rio as the 2016 Olympics host city. That trial is ongoing. He has said he is innocent and his lawyers repeated that on Thursday.

 

Diack was also charged by Brazilian prosecutors. He said at the time he was innocent.

 

Last month, Diack was also indicted in a French court on charges he and his son Papa Massata were involved in a series of illicit practices over a number of years, including bribe-taking and money-laundering, with the active involvement of international athletes and their federations.

 

'WE DID IT'

 

Cabral told Judge Marcelo Bretas that Nuzman assured him the scheme would work because Diack had a history of such practices.

 

"I said, Nuzman, what are our guarantees here? And he said, 'traditionally he sells 4, 5, 6 votes. There is a risk that we don't get through to the second round (of voting)."

 

Cabral said Diack guaranteed up to six votes for $1.5 million and then came back and offered more if he was paid an extra $500,000. Cabral said he authorized the payment.

 

"We did it," Cabral said.

 

The former governor, who has been sentenced to almost 200 years in jail for his part in a series of corruption scandals, named several top athletes in his testimony.

 

Cabral also said that Brazil's imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the former mayor of the city, Eduardo Paes, did not participate in the scheme but were informed about it after the fact.

 

Cabral made the revelations at a hearing requested by his new defence team. The strategy of revealing admissions was made as part of his plea bargain in hopes it might lead to a reduction in the sentences facing both him and his wife Adriana Ancelmo, who was also jailed for corruption. 

 

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Andrew Downie; editing by Diane Craft)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-06

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Not surprising!  Actually a good investment strategy...the price of doing business in a world where corruption is the norm...

The purity of sport across the globe has been tarnished by pigs with their snouts in the trough.

 

What's wrong with this photo of Lamine Diack?  Yes. he has his hand in the air. 

 

Deny........deny.......deny........counter allegation.  

 

I thought most people were aware of the suspected blatant corruption within both the IOCC as well as FIFA since allegations were first raised during the early 90s.  Its just that influence of governments, not to mention the connections of the officials involved,  ensured it was never investigated thoroughly until recent years. I have no doubt that a $2 million bribe as was the case here is chickenfeed to what has been paid to others and by governments. 

 

Sport corrupted, of course it is.  Bring big money into the game and everyone gets greedy its human nature. Tour de France, World Cup , Olympic Games, International Cricket etc etc. all have been, and no doubt still are,  corrupted to some extent.

Can you imagine how many bribes Qatar must have paid to host the World Cup?

3 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

Can you imagine how many bribes Qatar must have paid to host the World Cup?

Unfortunately my immiganation is not that big.