The process is uncommon. But it says a lot about the presumed influence of the IOC and its president on the progress of the world. Thomas Bach would have personally intervened with the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, as part of the investigation into acts of corruption attributed to the Diack family, Lamine the father and Papa Massata the son.
The information is revealed by theAFP. The press agency cites “ concordant sources. » She mentions a letter dated November 16, 2018, written by Thomas Bach and intended for the Senegalese head of state.
Thomas Bach writes that the investigating judge in charge of the investigation, Renaud van Ruymbeke, “ informed us of the difficulties he actually faced in the execution of two international letters rogatory addressed to the Minister of Justice of Senegal. The commitment of your government (…) would be particularly appreciated. » The IOC President adds that he hopes that these requests “ can be executed as quickly as possible"
The timing of the letter sent to Macky Sall owes nothing to chance. Still according toAFP, Thomas Bach was heard, on November 14, as a civil party by judge Renaud van Ruymbeke.
For three years, the magistrate has been carrying out two parallel investigations. The first concerns a system of corruption at the IAAF to delay, or even forget, sanctions for doping targeting Russian athletes. It cost Lamine Diack, the former president of the IAAF, his status as honorary member of the IOC. The Senegalese, now 85 years old, is still under house arrest in France.
The second investigation, more directly Olympic, concerns suspicions of corruption in the awarding of the Summer Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and in 2020 in Tokyo. Its main protagonist also belongs to the Diack clan. Papa Massata Diack, the son of the first mentioned, is suspected of having received several million euros in bribes to try to influence the votes of IOC members in favor of the Brazilian and then the Japanese issues.
Papa Massata Diack has always denied the facts. Logical and usual. But he refuses to be heard by French justice. A refugee in Senegal, he does not leave under any circumstances. An international arrest warrant has been issued for him since December 2015. A lease. But it has not yet had any effects. The Senegalese authorities leave Papa Massata Diack alone. In January 2016, they made it clear that they refused to extradite any of their citizens.
What can Thomas Bach do? A lot and a little at the same time. Last October, the IOC President met Macky Sall in Buenos Aires, during the Olympic organization's session, on the sidelines of the Youth Games. He took advantage of the awarding of the Summer Youth Games to Senegal in 2022 to advance his pawns. Thomas Bach is said to have asked the African head of state “ to assist in the investigation. » According to the official version, he would have “ received assurances” that the French authorities can go to Senegal to hear Papa Massata Diack. To this day, still nothing.
After his hearing by judge Renaud van Ruymbeke, Thomas Bach insisted again. “ I’m ready to take the next step”, he assured the French magistrate. In his letter to Macky Fall, the IOC president wrote: “ The facts accused by French justice (to the two members of the Diack clan), constitute an attack on the credibility of sports organizations, in particular the organization of the 2022 Youth Olympic Games"
The message is clear. By directly citing the 2022 YOG in Dakar, Thomas Bach is clearly telling the Senegalese authorities that their laxity in the Diack affair is harming their own event. Will the IOC president go so far as to threaten to withdraw from the event in Senegal? Unlikely. But not impossible.
