Former head of World Athletics governing body, Lamine Diack has been convicted in France for corruption in the Russian doping scandal and sentenced to 2 years in jail.
The 87-year old Diack was found guilty of accepting bribes from athletes suspected of doping, to cover up test results and let them continue competing, including in the 2012 London Olympics.
The court also found Diack guilty of accepting Russian money to help finance Macky Sall’s campaign for the 2012 Senegal Presidential election, in exchange for slowing anti-doping procedures.
Diack attended court proceedings in Paris on Wednesday to hear the verdict. Prosecutors said Diack had solicited bribes totalling €3.45 million from athletes suspected of drugs cheating. The presiding judge said the former long-jumper’s actions had “undermined the values of athletics and the fight against doping”.
Also Read: Ruth Chepngetich wins first gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Championships
The court handed Diack a 4-year prison sentence, 2 years of which are suspended. It also imposed the maximum fine of €500,000 euros.
Diack was once one of the most influential men in the sport, leading the International Association of Athletics Federations, IAAF from 1999 to 2015. The IAAF is now known as World Athletics.
A World Athletics statement released on Wednesday night read: “This has been a long five years and we would like to thank the French Prosecutors and the Paris Criminal Court for their time, detailed work and deliberations into this case.
“Whilst we are disappointed this happened in our sport, we are grateful for the strong and clear decisions that have been taken against the individuals involved and charged with these crimes, and we would like to reassure everyone that the reforms our Congress approved in 2016 will ensure that similar actions by individuals can never happen again in our sport”
Source: Sky Sports
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
