Police raid home of Tokyo Olympics executive linked to bribery
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 26.07.22. | 09:13
78 year old is suspected of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Japanese police on Tuesday raided the home of a 2020 Tokyo Olympics board member who allegedly received money from a sponsor he signed a consulting contract with, local media reported. Haruyuki Takahashi, 78, is suspected of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from high street business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc., an "official partner" of last year's pandemic-delayed mega-event.
Tokyo prosecutors have searched the home of ex-Tokyo 2020 Olympic board member Haruyuki Takahashi in connection to suspected inappropriate payments made to him by clothes retailer Aoki Holdings Inc , Kyodo reported on Tuesday. https://t.co/HBJjZXvQtz
— Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) July 26, 2022
Kyodo news agency reported that could constitute bribery, as Takahashi was considered a quasi-civil servant who was not permitted to accept money or gifts related to his position. The Tokyo prosecutors' office told AFP it could not comment on individual cases. A sports consulting firm run by Takahashi is suspected of receiving money from Aoki for a contract signed in 2017, according to local media. Aoki then in October 2018 became a Tokyo Games sponsor, allowing it to use the event's logo and sell officially licensed products.
Olympics could be delayed by one or two years if Games can't go ahead in summer - 2020; organizing committee member Haruyuki Takahashi says....
— Waihiga Mwaura 🇰🇪 (@WaihigaMwaura) March 11, 2020
Takahashi told the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper last week that the money his company received was for consultancy work. "There was no conflict of interest whatsoever with my position as an organising committee board member," he was quoted as saying. Aoki issued a statement last week saying it had no comment on reports of the payments.
Takahashi, a former executive at Japan's biggest advertising agency, Dentsu, had served on the Tokyo 2020 board since June 2014. The Tokyo Olympics organising committee disbanded last month. The case is not the first time questions have been raised about alleged impropriety around the Games. French prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations of corruption linked to Tokyo's bid for the Games in 2016.
Former Director, Supporting AOKI for Tournament Sponsors Suspicion of Olympic Funding AOKIHD is accused of receiving about 45 million yen from the men's clothing giant "AOKI Holdings (HD)" at a company represented by Haruyuki Takahashi (78), a former dir… https://t.co/XJFHwFTq33
— Asad Ali (@AsadAli55789990) July 21, 2022
The former head of Japan's Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, stepped down in 2019 as French authorities probed his involvement in payments made before Tokyo was awarded the event. The French investigation centres around payments made to Singapore-based firm "Black Tidings", which was linked to the son of disgraced former International Olympic Committee member Lamine Diack.
The Tokyo Olympics opened in July 23 last year after an unprecedented one-year delay because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Games were held in largely empty stadiums after fans were banned amid surging virus infections in Japan.
© Agence France-Presse
