(ATR) The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, affirms he will fight to clear his name in the face of an investigation by French authorities in relation to alleged bribes tied to the voting that awarded Tokyo the 2020 Olympics.
Takeda made the comments Tuesday at the first meeting of the JOC Executive Board, which he heads after scandal. The investigation connects the JOCto a payment of about $2 million made in 2013 by the candidacy committee that he directed to the now defunct consultancy Black Tidings, based in Singapore.
The French authorities suspect that the amount was intended for the purchase of Olympic votes.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee in Tokyo on Tuesday the president of JOC apologized for causing problems and said, according to the Kyodo agency: "From now on, I will follow the procedures and work solemnly to clear the suspicions."
Takeda's statements come at a time when public opinion appears to be a mixture of surprise and frustration at the accusations leveled against such a renowned figure of Olympism and just a year and a half before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the Japanese capital.
Some analysts have begun to consider that due to the little time remaining before the Olympics it would be advisable for Takeda to temporarily leave his positions in the JOC and in the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.
This would also allow him to dedicate himself fully to clarifying his situation.
Takeda did not attend the first meeting of the new Executive Council of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on Monday. Last week, he was absent fromthe IOC Marketing Commission meeting held in Lausanne, Switzerland, and his position as head of it was temporarily occupied by Czech businessman Jiri Kejval, who joined the IOC a year ago.
Takeda became the head of the important IOC commission in 2014. He has been president of the JOC since 2001. He was an Olympic athlete in the equestrian competitions of 1972 in Munich and 1976 in Montreal.
On January 11, French media reported that authorities were investigating Takeda for corruption. It was reported that the French Prosecutor's Office had opened a formal investigation on December 10.
During a brief appearance before the press last week, Takeda confirmed that he had been questioned by the French authorities on December 10. He emphasized that the payment to the Singapore company had been determined as an appropriate contractual process. Takeda left without answering reporters' questions.
It has been claimed that the operator of Black Tidings is closely linked to Papa Massata Diack, whose father is Lamine Diack, former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The Diacks face a corruption investigation in France. Interpol placed Papa Massata, who also faces money laundering charges, on its most wanted list, according to published reports. Senegal has not allowed France to extradite him to face charges, to date. Lamine Diack is prohibited from leaving France.
Written by Miguel Hernandez
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