One-time president of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Lamine Diack is facing trial in court on a three-count charge bordering on corruption, money laundering and breach of trust.
According to Reuters the attorneys-at-law claim Diack parted with bribes which sums up to 3.45 million euros ($3.9 million) from athletes suspected of doping to cover up test results and let them continue competing including the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The Prosecutors said Diack carved out $1.5 million of Russian funds while negotiating sponsorship and television rights to help finance Macky Sall’s campaign for the 2012 Senegal presidential election, in exchange for slowing anti-doping procedures.
Diack maintains he is innocent in the high profile case and his lawyer William Bourdon is confident that his client will survive the scare having seen his comportment amid the lawsuit.
Alongside Diack were four other accomplice: Habib Cisse, Diack’s former lawyer at the IAAF; Gabriel Dollé, who oversaw doping tests at the IAAF; former head of Russian athletics Valentin Balakhnitchev, and former Russian athletics head coach Alexei Melnikov who are believed to be part of the showdown and will all be tried in a similar vein on Wednesday when court hearing resumes.
