French investigators search Paris Olympics organizers
June 20, 2023
The headquarters of Paris Olympics organizers in the suburb of Saint-Denis have been searched on Tuesday as part of two investigations by the French financial prosecutor's office.
"A police search is currently under way at the headquarters of the organizing committee. Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the investigators to support their investigation," said Olympics 2024 spokesman Jonathan Firpo.
According to Le Monde newspaper, raids also took place at the offices of the public body in charge of Olympic infrastructure, and at the headquarters of several companies and consultants linked to the organization of the games.
What are the probes about?
The first investigation was launched in 2017 (the year Paris was picked by the IOC as the 2024 host) into suspected embezzlement of public funds and favoritism, and concerns about an unspecified contract reached by Paris organizers, the financial prosecutor's office said.
The second was opened in 2022 following an audit by the French Anti-corruption Agency. The prosecutor's office said that case targets suspected conflict of interest and favoritism involving several contracts reached by the organizing committee and Solideo, the company in charge of Olympic facilities.
Corruption at Olympic Games
The raids unfolded at the same time as the International Olympic Committee executive board began a two-day meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, expecting to praise Paris organizers for their progress.
The IOC said they had taken note of the raids. "We have been informed by Paris 2024, that they are cooperating fully with the authorities in this matter," a spokesperson said.
Paris becomes the third straight Summer Games organizer implicated in investigations led by anti-corruption authorities in the French capital.
Vote-buying allegations linked to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the Tokyo Games in 2021 previously removed several members of the International Olympic Committee from that organization.
dh/jcg (dpa, AP, AFP, Reuters)