World Athletics will sue Diack
BUT HIS CORRUPTION TRIAL STALLS
WORLD Athletics is to sue Lamine Diack and his codefendants for £35million. The ex-head of the sport’s governing body, formerly known as the IAAF, was in a Paris court yesterday.
his trial was adjourned until June following a dramatic late submission of evidence from his co-accused son.
On an afternoon high on drama but low on progress, Diack, 86, pleaded personally to be allowed to visit his 100-year-old brother in Senegal in the wake of the delay.
however, that request was rejected — and there could be further pain for the Senegalese with his former employers expected to demand tens of millions in damages for loss of revenue and reputational damage.
Sportsmail has learned that World Athletics will claim they are victims of the alleged offences and have lost out heavily financially. The £35m claim is a total of the costs laid against each of the six defendants.
Diack, who has been banned from leaving France for the past four years, had to surrender his passport and pay £430,000 bail. he faces corruption, money-laundering and breach of trust charges amid claims he took cash from Russian athletes to cover up doping offences.
The long-awaited trial, which is likely to send shockwaves through the world of sport, was due to start yesterday.
But three files of new documents which landed at the last minute — relating to a testimony Papa Massata Diack unexpectedly gave in Senegal — prompted a delay.
Parties asked for more time to review the fresh material and the case was effectively adjourned until June.
Diack Jnr remains in the west African country, shielded from extradition to France.
When the delay was announced to a stunned courtroom, Diack Snr dramatically approached the three female judges.
In seemingly a bizarre attempt to display his advancing years, he made an inappropriate comment about remembering a song which relates to the German occupation of the country in World War Two.
Diack, frail and wearing a hearing aid and glasses strapped to his head, also vowed that he would ‘not run away’ and would return to defend his reputation should he be allowed to leave France.
‘I want to clear up all of this,’ he added. ‘ I will clean my honour.’ Diack’s lawyer, William Bourdon, claimed that delaying the trial would be bad for everyone. Joining his client at the stand, he pleaded for Diack to be allowed to leave France, declaring: ‘This man will come back and explain himself.’
After a short break, the judges returned and denied his request, noting that if he failed to return they could not demand that he be extradited.
Also in attendance were former IAAF anti-doping chief Gabriel Dolle and lawyer habib Cisse, who are both being tried for corruption.
Diack Snr, who appeared to be slightly unsteady on his feet, denies the charges, but if found guilty he faces up to 10 years in jail.
he is accused of soliciting £2.96m from athletes suspected by the IAAF of doping. They are alleged to have paid to have their names cleared so they could continue to compete. Around 24 Russian athletes are claimed to be involved.
Diack Snr is also alleged to have taken a £1.15m payment from Russia to be used on electoral politics in Senegal. Prosecutors say that cash was creamed off sponsorship and TV rights deals, negotiated with Russian officials.
Outside the court, he told a scrum of reporters that he was disappointed by the delay and added that he had been ready to speak for four years.
Two Russians are also on trial but are not expected to attend — Valentin Balakhnichev, a former IAAF treasurer, and Alexei Melnikov, a coach who led Russia’s long- distance running program.
All the defendants deny the charges.