A ticket to the men's 100m final at the London 2012 Olympic Games was "illegally onsold four times, making quick profits for three different companies at each stage," according to Jacquelin Magnay of the London TELEGRAPH. What started as a top grade £1,600 ($2,576) ticket for Usain Bolt's race ended up costing a customer £10,000 ($16,000). Three companies "were involved in the scam," one called Sportsworld, which was a long standing authorized ticket reseller for LOCOG. The three companies have been fined a total of £70,000 ($112,714). The revelations will put more heat on the IOC to "change its ticketing policies as part of a review due to report at the end of January." The latest profiteering started when Sportsworld sold 74 tickets worth £420,000 ($676,284), which it had "obtained through its authority as an authorised ticket reseller in some countries to its sister company Events International." Events International then onsold many of the tickets at "hugely inflated prices to a company called Imperial Corporate Events, which packaged the tickets with accommodation and again boosted the price astronomically" (TELEGRAPH, 12/11). The London GUARDIAN reported Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said, "These companies exploited the public enthusiasm for the Games and sought to make money by selling the tickets on at hugely inflated prices, despite knowing that they were breaking the law." Some £420,000 was made from the sale of the 74 tickets, "with buyers paying up to £21,120 ($34,000) for a pair of tickets to the Opening Ceremony, and tickets to watch the men's 100m final, with a face value of £1,600, sold for £10,000 as part of a package including a night in a hotel" (GUARDIAN, 12/11).
