The Tokyo 2020 bid committee "admitted making payments" of more than $2M to an account linked to the son of disgraced former IAAF President Lamine Diack but insisted that "they were above-board consultancy fees," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. Former Tokyo Bid Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda and former Dir General Nobumoto Higuchi broke their silence to admit the payments had been made in two tranches, either side of its victory, but insisted the campaign was “at all times fair and correct.” The seven-figure payments "were made to an account overseen by Ian Tan Tong Han, a consultant to Athletic Management & Services, a company based in Lucerne that has a contract with the Japanese marketing giant Dentsu" to service its long-standing IAAF contract. Tan "was closely linked to Papa Massata Diack, the former IAAF marketing consultant who is the subject of an Interpol wanted notice over his involvement in separate corruption charges linked to extortion and bribery, though he denies all the allegations, including those that led to the life ban from athletics imposed in December." French prosecutors confirmed "a day after news of the payments broke that they were examining possible bribery and money laundering charges related to the case." Takeda, who is now president of the Japanese Olympic Committee and is head of the IOC’s marketing commission, said the payment to the Black Tidings account was a "legitimate consultant’s fee." Takeda and Higuchi said in statement, "The Tokyo 2020 bid committee can confirm that it paid an amount for the professional services received for the following consultation work including: the planning of the bid; tutoring on presentation practice; advice for international lobbying communications; and services for information and media analysis. All these services were properly contracted using accepted business practices" (GUARDIAN, 5/13).
