A seven-figure payment from the "successful Tokyo Olympic bid team to a notorious account" linked to the son of the disgraced former IAAF President Lamine Diack was apparently made during the race to host the 2020 Games, according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The alleged payment of around €1.3M ($1.5M), now "believed to be under scrutiny by French police, will increase pressure on the International Olympic Committee to investigate properly links between Diack’s regime and the bidding race for its flagship event." It could also "raise serious questions over Tokyo’s winning bid," awarded in '13. It is now understood that "among transactions under suspicion are payments" totaling around €1.3M apparently sent from the Tokyo 2020 bid, or those acting on their behalf, directly to the Black Tidings bank account in Singapore. The account is linked to Lamine Diack’s son, Papa Massata Diack, who was employed by the IAAF as a marketing consultant. The secret Black Tidings account "is at the heart of the allegations of institutionalised corruption at the IAAF over more than a decade." Asked about the alleged payment, believed to have been made in "more than one tranche" before and after the Games were secured, the Japanese Olympic Committee -- which oversaw the bid -- said that "its press team was away on business for a week and was unable to respond" (GUARDIAN, 5/11).
