The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday it was cooperating with French authorities investigating graft allegations against former world champion sprinter Frankie Fredericks.
Namibia’s Fredericks, an IOC member since 2012, stepped down in March as head of the committee evaluating bids to host the 2024 Olympics after corruption allegations were reported in the French media.
Since then the chief IOC ethics official Paquerette Girard Zapelli “has been monitoring the situation closely and cooperating with the French judiciary authorities”, the IOC said in a statement.
French investigators are looking into the possibility that bribes were paid over the awarding of the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio and the 2020 Tokyo Games.
In March, French daily Le Monde said Fredericks received $299,300 (262,000 euros) from Papa Massata Diack, son of ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack, on October 2, 2009, the day Rio de Janeiro was awarded the right to host the 2016 Olympics.
Fredericks insists that the payments were received for promotional services provided between 2007 and 2011 under a contract signed on March 11, 2007 and had nothing to do with the Olympics.
On Monday the IAAF provisionally suspended Fredericks from its ruling council as it launches a probe into graft allegations against him. The former 200m world champion is appealing the suspension.
Papa Massata and Lamine Diack also face charges in France over millions of dollars paid to cover up doping failures by Russian athletes.
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