21-6-2023 (PARIS) Just over a year before the opening ceremony of the highly anticipated Paris 2024 Olympics, police conducted raids on Tuesday at the headquarters of the organizing committee, known as Cojo, as well as at the offices of Solideo, the body responsible for overseeing the construction sites for the Olympics.
The national financial prosecutor’s office (PNF) confirmed to AFP that the raids were carried out in connection with two separate ongoing investigations. The investigations focus on allegations of “illegal conflict of interest, misuse of public funds, and favoritism,” according to a spokesperson for the prosecutors.
The first investigation was initiated in 2017 by anti-corruption and financial crime investigators and involves a series of contracts approved by “several influential decision-makers associated with the Games, particularly Cojo and their predecessors GIP 2024 (the bidding committee),” as stated by the prosecutors.
The second investigation was launched in 2022 and assigned to the BRDE, the financial brigade of the Parisian police, who are looking into suspicions of conflict of interest and favoritism.
The raids were prompted by concerns raised by the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) regarding certain deals approved by Cojo and Solideo. The AFA specifically flagged “consultancy contracts” related to various topics.
One of the investigations reportedly revolves around Edouard Donnelly, the executive director of operations for Cojo, who is also a service provider for the Games through his company RNK, according to a source close to the case.
Cojo and Solideo have stated that they are fully cooperating with the investigators to facilitate the ongoing inquiry.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has acknowledged the raids and confirmed that Paris 2024 is cooperating with the authorities. The French sports ministry declined to comment on the matter.
This marks the first instance of a raid being conducted at the headquarters of the organizing committee.
Two reports issued by the AFA in 2021 drew attention to “risks affecting probity” and “conflicts of interests” that could potentially tarnish the desired “whiter than white” image of the Games, as envisioned by Tony Estanguet, the head of the organizing committee.
The AFA inspectors highlighted deficiencies in the procurement procedures, describing them as “imprecise and incomplete,” and raised concerns about potential situations of unregulated conflicts of interest.
The inspectors also referred to previous criminal cases related to the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Summer Games, underscoring the abundance of probity risks associated with major sporting events.
David Roizen, a French expert in public policy and sport, expressed concern that the raids would harm the image of the Paris organizers, stating that “in the eyes of the general public, these raids are catastrophic. (The organizers) have lost their credibility, especially in their duty to set a good example.”
Roizen added that while it is possible that nothing unlawful has occurred, the repercussions of the raids will continue to pose challenges until the conclusion of the Olympics.
These raids mark the latest chapter in a series of controversies surrounding French sports in the past year. In May, Brigitte Henriques resigned as the president of France’s National Olympic Committee, which prompted the IOC to call for everyone involved to take responsibility and resolve the internal conflicts affecting the committee.
The Paris Olympics are scheduled to commence on July 26, 2024, and conclude on August 11.
