Irish officials won’t pay for Hickey’s release

DUBLIN: The immediate future of Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Patrick Hickey remained unclear on Friday after the organisation said they would not be paying a hefty bond set by a judge in Rio de Janiero that would allow him to return home while he awaits trial over an alleged ticketing scam.

And the OCI added they would only pay Hickey’s legal costs were he cleared of all charges against him.

Judge Juliana Leal de Melo, who serves on a court overseeing amateur and professional sports, said in a statement on Wednesday that the 71-year-old Hickey, could have his passport returned to seek medical treatment abroad provided he lodged bail of 1.5 million real (RM1.87 million).

However, an OCI spokeswoman said in Dublin in on Friday that the payment of the bond was a “personal matter” for Hickey.

“I can confirm that the OCI will not be paying Mr Hickey’s bond,” she said.

The OCI, who have been paying for an apartment in Rio where Hickey has been residing following the confiscation of his passport in August and subsequent release from prison detention, also said they would only meet his legal fees if he was found innocent.

“According to the OCI articles of association, Mr Hickey’s legal fees will only be paid if he is not convicted of the offences for which he is being held, but his fees will not be paid if he is convicted of these offences,” the spokeswoman said.

Hickey, who has a history of heart problems, was also the head of the European Olympic Committee at the time of his arrest but has since stepped down temporarily from both his continental and Irish Olympic positions.

He was arrested by Brazilian police during the Rio Olympics in August as part of a raid into an illegal ticket sales scheme.

He denies any wrongdoing but has been formally charged, along with nine others, on counts that include ticket-touting (scalping), ambush marketing, theft, tax evasion, moneylaundering and criminal association.

Earlier this month, the OCI announced the suspension of an independent investigation they had commissioned into the affair pending the conclusion of the court case in Brazil following threats by Hickey’s lawyers to seek an injunction against publication of its findings.

“This decision was taken following the receipt of a letter from Mr Hickey’s lawyers this week in which he threatened to make an application to the High Court for an injunction preventing the completion of the review,” the OCI said in a statement at the time.

“The executive committee has decided not to incur the very significant additional cost of defending any such legal proceedings.”

Reacting to the news of Hickey’s possible return to Ireland, Sports Minister Shane Ross said on Thursday he expected him to co-operate fully with a separate, ongoing state inquiry into the allegations of ticket touting.

Ross added he had no plans to meet Hickey when the veteran administrator returned to Ireland. AFP