TOKYO - A Tokyo court sentenced a former operations executive on the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for playing a central role in rigging bids related to the 2021 Summer Games.
Yasuo Mori "took the lead in arranging bid-rigging among operators, leveraging his influence as an executive," the Tokyo District Court's Presiding Judge Kenji Yasunaga said in the ruling over Mori's role in bid rigging for contracts worth around 43.7 billion yen to plan and run Olympic test events and competitions.
The case, along with a bribery scandal involving another former organizing committee executive, has cast a shadow over the legacy of the Olympics held in summer 2021 after a one-year postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ruling said Mori conceived and played a central role in the illegal scheme, driven by the belief that biddings needed to be rigged to avert unfavorable outcomes and ensure success for intended operators.
Noting the substantial sums involved, it said Mori's actions greatly impeded fair and free competition. It criticized his disregard for the principle of open competitive bidding established in consideration of the committee's public nature, deeming his approach "short-sighted." ...continue reading
