Singapore Company Handling Tokyo Olympic Bid Committee Transactions Makes Remittance
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] It has been revealed that the suspicion of the son of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member receiving black money from a Singaporean company in charge of the Tokyo Olympic bid committee during the selection process of Japan as the host city for the 2020 Olympics is true.
According to the Asahi Shimbun and others on the 21st, the Singaporean company Black Tidings (BT), which was in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee (Bid Committee), transferred a large sum of money to Papa Massata Diack, son of then-IOC member Lamine Diack (87, Senegal), and related companies around the time Tokyo was selected as the host city for the 2020 Olympics.
Lamine Diack, an IOC member, had voting rights regarding the host city selection at the time. He served as an IOC member for nearly 16 years until 2015 and was regarded as a figure with significant influence over other members from Africa and other countries.
This was confirmed through materials obtained from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network under the U.S. Treasury Department and French authorities by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Asahi Shimbun, Kyodo News, and Radio France.
BT is understood to have transferred $367,000 (approximately 426.56 million KRW) to Papa Massata and related companies.
According to the data, about $150,000 was transferred from BT's account to a Russian account held by Papa Massata on August 27, 2013, November 6, 2013, and January 27, 2014.
Additionally, BT sent $217,000 to the Senegalese account of PMD Consulting, a company related to Papa Massata, between November 6, 2013, and December 18, 2013.
Prior to this, BT received $2,325,000 (approximately 2.7 billion KRW) from the Bid Committee on July 29, 2013, and October 29, 2013.
Separately, BT also sent 85,000 euros (approximately 117.19 million KRW) on November 8, 2013, to a jewelry and watch store in Paris as payment for a luxury watch purchased by Papa Massata four months earlier.
Combining the money transferred to Papa Massata and related companies and the watch payment amounts to about 540 million KRW.
The IOC decided on Tokyo as the host city for the 2020 Olympics on September 7, 2013.
From just before the host city decision, the Bid Committee transferred large sums to BT, and BT in turn transferred money to the son of a powerful IOC member and related companies.
Suspicions of improper transactions related to the host city decision had previously surfaced in 2016, leading French authorities to investigate.
At that time, the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) formed an internal investigation team composed of lawyers and others and stated that the Bid Committee was unaware of how BT used the funds.
Tsunekazu Takeda, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee, said regarding this report, "I had no knowledge whatsoever of what happened after the payment to BT," and added, "I deeply regret this."
Meanwhile, Diack served as president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015. On the 16th, he was sentenced by a Paris court to four years in prison and fined 500,000 euros for involvement in the organized cover-up of doping by Russian athletes during his term.
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