Pat Hickey ‘home to Ireland this week’
Former OCI president set for court hearing in coming days
PAT Hickey has been told he could be back in Ireland by next weekend, depending on the outcome of a court hearing later this week.
The 71-year-old, who temporarily stood down as President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) following his arrest on August 17, learned late on Friday that charges against him had been accepted by a judge in Rio de Janeiro.
Mr Hickey sought legal advice from his team following the decision and he was told there would be a court hearing this week, according to sources.
During this session, which Mr Hickey has been told he does not have to attend, a decision will be made over a date for a trial.
“If the trial is scheduled for the next couple of months, Pat Hickey will obviously stay in Rio until it takes place,” a source told the Sunday Independent last night.
“However, if it looks like the trial will not happen for another year or two, he should get his passport back on condition that he return to Brazil for the trial. In this scenario, he would be back in Ireland by next weekend and he would resume his role as president of the OCI. He is essentially at a crossroads.”
Mr Hickey is being represented in Brazil by solicitors Simone Kamenetz, Arthur Lavigne and Alan Caetano Ramos.
Earlier this week, public prosecutor Marcos Kac charged Mr Hickey, THG director Kevin Mallon and eight others with ticket-touting, ambush marketing, theft, tax evasion, money-laundering and criminal association.
The exact charges, and who they have been laid against, are contained in an 8,000word court document.
On Friday, Judge Juliana Leal de Melo of the Fan and Major Events Court also ordered the passports of Mr Hickey and Mr Mallon be retained by the court and that Mr Hickey present himself before it every 20 days. She also ordered him to observe a 10pm curfew and banned him from attending events linked to the Rio Paralympic Games.
Despite this, Mr Hickey’s legal team are confident that he could still get his passport back at a hearing this week.
However, police in Rio de Janeiro say it is “extremely unlikely” that Mr Hickey would be permitted to return to Ireland while his case is before the courts, regardless of how long the legal process would take.
Investigator Aloysio Falcao said: “I don’t think this is possible. There is no process before the courts and this would most likely not happen.”
Both Mr Hickey and Mr Mallon were also warned on Friday that any breach of their strict bail conditions could see them being returned to prison.