[NEWS] Exclusive: French investigators focus on Dentsu partner in sports corruption probe – Loganspace AI

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[NEWS] Exclusive: French investigators focus on Dentsu partner in sports corruption probe – Loganspace AI


NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) – French authorities investigating corruption in world sports judge a Swiss accomplice of Jap marketing huge Dentsu Inc played a “central and disturbing role” in affords old-usual to embezzle sponsorship cash and grasp requested Switzerland to raid its location of job and acquire evidence, per a individual with data of the probe and documents connected to the case reviewed by Reuters.

FILE PHOTO: Dentsu’s emblem is seen at its head location of job building in Tokyo Japan, August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

French investigators have not accused Dentsu or its accomplice, Lucerne-essentially essentially essentially based Athletics Management & Products and companies, of wrongdoing. The businesses work together on marketing and media rights for the Global Affiliation of Athletics Federations, the Monaco-essentially essentially essentially based governing physique for monitor and self-discipline. The IAAF’s used president, Lamine Diack, and his son, Papa Massata, were charged with embezzling from sponsorship and broadcast affords for these rights and other financial crimes in an inquiry that wrapped up in June and is train to head to trial.

The role of Dentsu and AMS may maybe perhaps maybe furthermore near beneath scrutiny in a second, ongoing inquiry by the French into alleged bribes connected to the Olympics and the World Athletics Championships, the IAAF’s biennial flagship occasion, the individual with data of the probe said. French investigators suspect that Tokyo’s bidding committee bribed the Diacks to stable votes to host the 2020 Olympics – an allegation the committee has denied.

The 89-web yelp indictment – is called an “ordonnance de renvoi” in French – signed by French prosecuting assume Renaud Van Ruymbeke says AMS played a “central and disturbing role within the technique” that diverted sponsorship funds to Papa Massata Diack. AMS ceded to him IAAF rights for parts of the realm and partnered on affords that Diack old-usual to pocket “exorbitant” commissions, the indictment says.

AMS declined to answer to a detailed checklist of questions from Reuters. Dentsu said it had been blind to the allegations within the indictment and had now not been questioned in reference to the probe.

“Dentsu is now not responsive to any details of the indictment,” Dentsu spokesman Shusaku Kannan said in a written response to Reuters.

Van Ruymbeke signed a ask in Also can 2018 that used to be sent to Swiss authorities asking them to raid AMS’s Lucerne location of job and quiz its executives, but so far the Swiss have not acted on it, per a duplicate of the correct support ask seen by Reuters and the individual with data of the probe.

The ask to Switzerland and details from the indictment about AMS have not been previously reported. They highlight how a four-year-extinct French investigation has moved beyond a probe into governance at the IAAF and a quilt-up of Russian doping into whether or now not consulting and sponsorship contracts had been old-usual to funnel bribes to the Diacks.

    France’s ask requested the Swiss to stable contracts between AMS and Dentsu, AMS and Papa Massata Diack’s companies, and these connected to 5 companies that struck IAAF sponsorship or broadcasting affords: Russia’s VTB Financial institution, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, China Central Tv, and Abu Dhabi Media Company. It furthermore requested for an clarification of payments tied to those contracts.

Switzerland’s lawyer normal and its Division of Justice one after the other told Reuters they’d got the ask but referred detailed questions to the French. Van Ruymbeke and the French Financial Prosecution Diagram of job declined comment.

Samsung said it subsidized IAAF events to plan its ticket and promote world sports and used to be blind to the embezzlement allegations. VTB denied involvement in any illicit activities and said its IAAF contracts had been “an efficient instrument to promote VTB within the realm enviornment.” China Central Tv and Abu Dhabi Media Company did now not answer to inquiries. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, a train oil refiner is called Sinopec, declined to comment.

    ‘AMS IS DENTSU’

Sports activities federations relish the IAAF on the total attain now not grasp the know-strategies on how to apartment the advanced industry of managing marketing and broadcasting rights and gathering sponsors, so they outsource the job to companies relish Dentsu.

Tokyo-essentially essentially essentially based Dentsu, the realm’s fifth-biggest marketing agency, has made sports marketing a centerpiece of its industry. The firm, which furthermore works in public members of the family, market research and polling, used to be an advisor to Tokyo’s a hit present to host the 2020 Olympics and has helped Japan elevate a document-setting $3.1 billion from home sponsors as marketing agent for the occasion. Dentsu furthermore maintains shut ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Occasion. Abe’s accomplice, Akie, once labored at Dentsu, as did the celebration’s head of public members of the family.

Dentsu received most of IAAF’s world rights in 2001 following the financial disaster of Global Sport and Leisure, a Swiss sports marketing firm which had held them. Dentsu introduced about AMS, newly fashioned by used ISL workers, as a accomplice to carrier the IAAF contract.

Dentsu doesn’t possess a stake in AMS. However the partnership had change into so shut that Dentsu Govt Officer Kiyoshi Nakamura said in a November 2016 assembly in Tokyo that the two had been “fully integrated”, per a letter submitted to Van Ruymbeke by IAAF lawyer Regis Bergonzi in July 2017.

    “AMS is Dentsu,” Nakamura told then IAAF Chief Govt Olivier Gers at the assembly, per the letter, which used to be portion of a submission by Bergonzi to French authorities referenced within the indictment reviewed by Reuters.

    Kannan, the Dentsu spokesman, denied Nakamura ever made the kind of comment and said Dentsu and AMS had a “working industry relationship”. Bergonzi referred Reuters to the IAAF, which did now not address the episode.

    As portion of its partnership, AMS came to carry out IAAF rights for some territories from Dentsu. Starting up round 2007 AMS transferred the rights for some markets to Papa Massata Diack, who earned thousands and thousands of bucks, unprecedented of it by commissions from AMS, securing marketing and broadcasting affords in Russia, Asia and the Heart East, the indictment says.

The younger Diack used to be paid by his firm, Pamodzi Sports activities Consulting, even as he used to be one after the other being paid as a marketing manual for the IAAF, per the indictment. His biggest payday came from a $30 million contract with VTB’s agent, Russian sports marketing agency Sportima, for the financial institution to sponsor IAAF events from 2007 to 2011. The indictment says he saved about $10 million of that total per an evaluation by French authorities of the contracts between the companies. In a commentary to Reuters, VTB said it had no regulate over how the “receiving celebration” old-usual its funds. Sportima’s Director General Oleg Manzha told Reuters he may maybe perhaps maybe furthermore now not comment attributable to a non-disclosure agreement.

(Graphics: A world sports deal beneath investigation click on,tmsnrt.rs/2Z7qreI)

Papa Massata Diack used to be furthermore sluggish in paying AMS cash owed to the firm beneath their contract and may maybe perhaps maybe furthermore now not grasp paid fully, per transactions and correspondence cited within the indictment. With AMS passing on many of the funds to Dentsu, this kind of delays or shortfalls may maybe perhaps maybe furthermore decrease what IAAF earned beneath a profit-sharing agreement that kicked in after Dentsu tranquil revenues above a minimal threshold, per contracts referenced within the indictment.

Papa Massata Diack is in Senegal, which has refused extradition requests and declined to provide banking data to French investigators. He told Reuters he “doesn’t acknowledge” the French inquiry.

“Senegalese are known to be very wise and sure,” he wrote in an August 8 email. “This investigation is crawl for failure!!!”

Diack said he used to be “fully cooperating” with a separate and ongoing investigation in Senegal. A spokesman for Senegal’s justice ministry did now not answer to questions about cooperation with the French.

Admire his son, Lamine Diack has consistently denied wrongdoing. The 86-year-extinct used long jumper is beneath apartment arrest in Paris. His lawyer did now not answer to questions from Reuters.

Dentsu and the IAAF renewed their contract in September 2014, a year earlier than Lamine Diack’s 16-year tenure used to be attributable to end. The deal prolonged Dentsu’s regulate of the IAAF’s rights to 2029 and prolonged an agreement benefiting the son, the indictment says.

“In this manner, Lamine Diack used to be sustaining the machine in location earlier than his departure,” the indictment says. “He used to be tying the IAAF’s hands for 15 years.”

IAAF spokeswoman Nicole Jeffery said the IAAF had reformed its governance beneath Sebastian Coe, who replaced Lamine Diack as president. She said the IAAF used to be actually apt a sufferer within the case, entitling it to that which you may maybe perhaps mediate of compensation, and deferred to French prosecutors as “most attention-grabbing positioned to evaluate, substantiate and by some means carry to a conclusion any and all allegations.”

    TOKYO 2020

    Van Ruymbeke closed out the main inquiry in June after charging the Diacks with corruption, cash laundering and breach of believe. Four others – Gabriel Dolle, used head of the IAAF’s anti-doping unit; used IAAF treasurer and used president of the Russian athletics federation Valentin Balakhnichev; Alexei Melnikov, a coach for Russian distance runners; and Habib Cisse, Lamine Diack’s used correct adviser – had been charged with corruption. Balakhnichev said, “I don’t maintain into consideration myself guilty of what I am being accused.” Melnikov did now not answer to requests for comment. Attorneys for Cisse and Dolle, who has sought preferential treatment in return for a guilty plea, furthermore did now not answer to questions from Reuters. A trial date has now not been train.

Van Ruymbeke has since retired and handed the investigation to Benedicte De Perthuis, the assume overseeing the continuing inquiry into whether or now not bribes had been paid to persuade the awarding of the Olympics and the World Championships, per of us with data of the investigation.

As portion of that inquiry, French prosecutors are investigating the used head of Tokyo’s Olympic present committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, for approving $2.3 million in payments to Singaporean manual Tan Tong Han in 2013. French prosecutors are investigating whether or now not Tan passed the cash to the younger Diack to persuade the father, who used to be a member of the Global Olympic Committee and believed to withhold sway over African members’ votes when Tokyo used to be chosen 2020 host.

Slideshow(3 Photos)

A Third-celebration panel convened by Japan’s Olympic Committee to ascertain the bribery allegations said in 2016 that Takeda celebrated Tan’s contract in portion attributable to a recommendation by Dentsu per interviews with of us focused on the present. Dentsu said at the time that the present committee had sought its advice and that it had supplied data on several consultants, along with Tan.

Takeda has apologized and resigned from the Global Olympic Committee, but maintained his innocence.

    Tan declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Reporting by Nathan Layne in Contemporary York, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Paris; additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Mari Saito and Chris Gallagher in Tokyo, Emmanuel Jarry and Simon Carraud in Paris, John Miller in Lucerne, Michael Shields in Zurich, Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore, Edward McAllister in Dakar, Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and Liangping Gao in Beijing

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