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Stuttgart Was Urged To Offer Rolexes During Bid To Land '06 IAAF WC, Documents Show

A city bidding to stage a prestigious IAAF event was urged "to offer Rolex watches, cash donations, gift packs and entertainment as part of its campaign," according to Paul Kelso of SKY NEWS. The man "at the center of the revelations" is Papa Massata Diack, son of former IAAF President Lamine Diack. Diack Jr. is "the subject of an Interpol Red Notice." Believed to be in Dakar, last month Senegal "rejected a request for his extradition to France." Correspondence seen by Sky News reveals that in '04, Diack Jr. "tried to secure a contract for his company PMD Consulting to lobby on behalf of German city Stuttgart," which was bidding for the 2006 IAAF Athletics World Cup. The documents also show he demanded a total fee of $600,000 should Stuttgart's bid "be successful." The documents reveal how Diack Jr. "proposed to win over members of the IAAF Council." In '04 he met with Stuttgart city officials and the German then-IAAF VP Helmut Digel. Following the meeting, Diack Jr. set out "a series of five-figure payments and gifts to athletics projects and individuals," and appeared to suggest his father, then the IAAF president, "would approve." Diack Jr. wrote that certain payments would be considered "as priorities in the President [sic] request for donations and assistance to federations, areas, council members, athletes/coaches" before setting out a list that included:

  • $84,900 for "building HQ" for the African Athletics Confederation (CAA).
  • $35,000 for "administration assistance" for the South American athletics confederation CONSULDATLE. 
  • $40,000 for "VIP gifts package" (valuable watches EBEL, Rolex, Mont Blanc). 
The total cost of Diack's proposal was €365,439, in addition to his fee of $600,000, half of which was to be paid in advance with the balance if Stuttgart was successful (SKY NEWS, 2/11).

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