Society

Japanese Olympic head facing charges

Jan 12 (NHK) - French authorities say a judge is considering charging the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee with corruption. It's in connection with the awarding of the 2020 Tokyo Games.

French prosecutors say an investigative judge began looking into the case last month. The judge is weighing whether to indict Tsunekazu Takeda.

French media report it's related to a suspected payment totaling more than 2 million dollars. It was made before and after Japan won its bid to host the summer Games.

Since 2016, French investigators have been looking into the transfer of money from a Japanese bank account to a firm in Singapore.

That company was linked to the son of Lamine Diack, who was a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Lamine Diack has since been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to cover up doping by Russian athletes.

The Tokyo bid committee argued the payment was for consulting services and was legitimate.

An investigation by the Japanese Olympic Committee found no evidence of bribery, but concluded that the procedure was not transparent.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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