IOC says no reason to doubt Tokyo on bid payments

TOKYO: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday it saw no reason to doubt assurances from Tokyo about the legitimacy of payments made during its successful bid to host the 2020 Games.

IOC Vice-President John Coates said the IOC would not conduct its own investigation, but looked forward to the results of probes under way in France and Japan.

Tsunekazu Takeda, leader of the group that won Tokyo the Summer Games, said this month that payments of more than $2 million said to have been made to a Singapore bank account were legitimate consultancy fees, checked by auditors.

The account was controlled by a friend of Papa Massata Diack, son of former IAAF chief president Lamine Diack.

French authorities are investigating Diack senior for alleged corruption, and the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) launched its own investigation into the 2020 bid process on Wednesday.

Coates, in Tokyo for meetings with Japanese Olympic planners, told a news conference that the IOC was concerned about the allegations and monitoring the two investigations.