IOC: Reports show no organized crime

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Sports are free of any influence from organized crime despite allegations that a reputed Russian mobster fixed figure skating results at the Olympics, a senior IOC official said Thursday.

Francois Carrard, director general of the International Olympic Committee, told reporters that a report commissioned following the arrest last year of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov "clearly shows no hint of any action by any form of organized crime to influence sports results."

The study, which Carrard said concerned "sports in general," not the specific case of Tokhtakhounov or just the Olympics, was not made available to reporters. It was prepared by the office of German Interior Minister Otto Schily, delivered to the Olympic body late last month and presented to a meeting of the IOC Executive Board Thursday.

IOC officials said German authorities were asked to write the report by Thomas Bach, the German vice president of the IOC and head of the Olympic body's legal commission.

"As I've said from day one in this matter, we have no investigative power," said Carrard.

Tokhtakhounov, 53, has been held in a prison in Venice, Italy, since July on U.S. charges that he helped secure a gold medal for Russia in the pairs competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in exchange for a victory for the French ice dancing team. Tokhtakhounov denies the charges.

Last month, an Italian judge ruled the Russian could be extradited to the United States but did not set a deadline for the extradition. Tokhtakhounov's lawyers said he planned to appeal the decision.

"We have been closely monitoring the evolution of this procedure. We keep cooperating with U.S. authorities. But there's not much going on," Carrard said. However, Carrard, said, "we're not closing the file."

Italian taxation officials have said the investigation into Tokhtakhounov is based largely on phone conversations recorded during a wider investigation of organized crime. When they found conversations allegedly dealing with vote-swapping at the Olympics, Italian authorities handed the tapes to the FBI.

If convicted on the U.S. charges, Tokhtakhounov could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of five counts.

There have long been allegations of match-fixing and other corruption in the high-stakes world of sports.

After the last cricket World Cup in 1999, South African captain Hansie Cronje, Pakistan star Salim Malik and Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin were among stars banned for life for giving information to bookmakers or fixing matches.

 

Related information

Stories

England, Wales set for Millennium mismatch Maroney retires from long-distance swimming

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video