New allegations in international track scandal focus on ex-president Lamine Diack’s son
Former president of the IAAF Lamine Diack is being investigated for allegedly accepting payments to defer doping sanctions against Russian athletes.
These are dark days for the international track federation, and clouds keep rolling in.
In an ever-widening scandal, the IAAF is under scrutiny by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and its former president, Lamine Diack, is facing criminal charges after being accused of soliciting bribes to suppress positive doping tests.
On Friday, a French prosecutor told the Associated Press that one of Diack’s sons was “very active” in the alleged scheme to blackmail athletes for hush money.
Authorities claim the elder Diack, who served as IAAF president for almost 16 years before retiring this summer, received more than $1 million in improper money. Police took Diack into custody over the weekend, then released him after placing him under investigation on preliminary charges of corruption and money laundering.
Sebastian Coe, the famed British runner, was elected to replace Diack. In the midst of the continuing probe, the IAAF has decided to cancel its annual awards gala.
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“Given the cloud that hangs over our association this is clearly not the time for the global athletics family to be gathering in celebration of our sport,” Coe said.
Follow David Wharton on Twitter @LATimesWharton.
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