France probes Japan’s Olympic committee boss for corruption
PARIS: The president of Japan’s Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, is under formal investigation by French prosecutors for suspected corruption related to Japan’s successful bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games, a French judicial source said on Friday.
The source said Takeda, a retired equestrian sportsman, was indicted last month by the national financial prosecutor’s office in Paris. Prosecuting judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke suspected Takeda of paying bribes to secure Japan’s winning bid.
In Tokyo, Takeda said no improper actions such as bribery had taken place in connection with Tokyo’s games bid and he had not been indicted by French authorities.
Under French law, indictment means he is now being treated as a “formal suspect” but a full indictment comes only once the case is going to court.
“I apologise for the huge worries that have been brought to the people of Japan, who have given so much support to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and in order to put every doubt to rest I intend to continue cooperating with investigations,” he said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had been in close contact with French judicial authorities. Its ethics committee has opened a file on the case and would meet later on Friday.
“Mr Takeda continues to enjoy the full presumption of innocence,” the IOC said in a statement.
Takeda is also an IOC member since 2012 and heads its market- ing commission.
In 2016, French prosecutors announced an investigation into more than $2 million of payments made by the Japanese bidding committee to a Singaporean consultancy firm, Black Tidings.
In 2017, Takeda and several others were voluntarily questioned by Japanese prosecutors at the request of French authorities in relation to the payments, Kyodo News agency reported at the time. Takeda and the others had denied any wrongdoing, Kyodo said.