Yahoo – AFP,
Frédéric Bourigault, 7 January 2016
Paris (AFP)
- IAAF judges on Thursday banned for life former Russia athletics chief
Valentin Balakhnichev and a son of former world body president Lamine Diack
over the blackmailing of athletes who failed doping tests.
The ethics
commission also ordered a life ban against former Russian walking coach Alexei
Melnikov and a five year suspension for former world body anti-doping doctor
Gabriel Dolle.
The panel
found that the four "conspired to extort what were in substance bribes
from the athlete by acts of blackmail."
"Any
lesser sanction would not meet the gravity of their offences," the
commission added in announcing the bans.
"The
life bans announced today could not send a stronger message that those who
attempt to corrupt or subvert the sport of athletics will be brought to
justice," said International Association of Athletics Federations
president Sebastian Coe.
Papa
Massata Diack, Balakhnichev and Melnikov also face fines of between
$15,000-$25,000 (13,800-23,000 euros).
Papa
Massata Diack and his father Lamine Diack, who stepped down as IAAF president
in August, and Balakhnichev are all under investigation by French police over
hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to cover up doping offences.
Lamine
Diack is alleged to have received one million euros ($1.1 million) alone. His
son acted as a marketing consultant to the IAAF until forced to stand down over
the scandals.
The IAAF
ethics commission looked into charges that Russian runner Liliya Shobukhova,
who won the 2012 London Olympics women's marathon, paid more than $600,000 to
have her doping violations covered up so she could compete at the Olympics.
Melnikov,
former national long distance walkers coach, is said to have acted as an
intermediary between athletes and Balakhnichev, who was also the IAAF
treasurer, and Diack.
Dolle, who
like Diack and his father comes from Senegal, played a smaller role in the
coverup.
According
to the testimony, some 300,000 euros ($325,000) was paid back to Shobukhova
through a Singapore company Black Tidings in 2014 in a bid to obtain her
silence over the bribes.
But
Shobukhova turned whistleblower for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which
has been investigating widespread doping in Russian support.
According
to the IAAF report, Balakhnichev has given information that at least five other
Russian athletes had given cash to cover up doping offences.
Balakhnichev
alleged that he had been "blackmailed" by the IAAF and that the
system was orchestrated by the world body president's son and Habib Cisse, a
former lawyer for the president.
Russia has
been suspended by the IAAF and now faces a race against time to be readmitted
for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.
Balakhnichev
said the ban was a "clearly politicised decision".
"Certain
forces are trying to increase the pressure on Russian sport by taking such a
radical decision," he told Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
Russia's
Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told the R-Sport agency however that the "decision
was expected and there is no sense in appealing".
Shobukhova
is now serving a reduced ban for her doping failures. Her Olympic title has
been stripped from her. At the peak of her career she was earning $1.5 million
a year, the ethics commission report said.
"The
(2014) repayment was to be a quid pro quo for her acceptance of sanction,"
the IAAF report said.
WADA is to
release a new report on doping in athletics on January 14 which is expected to
implicate new countries.
Coe said
that the IAAF was still helping the French criminal investigation and WADA's
independent commission.
The IAAF,
which has faced accusations of taking a lax attitude to doping, said it was
"angered" by the bribery case and insisted the four no longer have
any link to the world body.
"The
IAAF is reassured that the panel of the ethics board has seen no evidence
implicating any other members of the IAAF Anti-Doping Department," it said
in a statement.
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