Back Print this page
Legalbrief   |   your legal news hub Thursday 25 April 2024

Ex-IAAF’s graft trial postponed

The trial of the former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) supremo Lamine Diack on corruption charges has been delayed until June after new documents were submitted to the court in Paris concerning testimony that his son and co-defendant Papa Massata Diack gave in Senegal in November. Legalbrief reports that the 86-year-old Senegalese faces corruption and money-laundering charges linked to the Russian doping scandal. He was investigated by French authorities for four years over claims he took payments of more than 3m euros to cover up cheating. Parties have been given time to review the documents, which include a record of a hearing at which Diack Jnr gave evidence. BBC News reports that he remains holed up in Senegal – the country has refused to extradite him. Diack denies the charges, but if found guilty he could face up to 10 years in jail. Previously one of the most influential figures in world of sport, Diack was president of the International Association of Athletics' Federations (now World Athletics), for 16 years until he was replaced by Britain's Lord Coe in August 2015.