Police search the headquarters of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games | sports

The headquarters of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Paris Olympics woke up this morning to a police search. “Registration is currently underway at the headquarters of the organizing committee. Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the researchers,” the committee said in a statement. He added that he is not subject to any judicial investigation against him. Asked how long the raid will last and what they are specifically looking for, a spokesman for the organizing committee asked. He made it clear to this newspaper that they could not make any further statements on the subject at this time.

The research was conducted by personnel from the Central Office for Combating Corruption, Financial and Fiscal Crimes (OCLCIFF) and the Financial Brigade of the Judicial Police in Paris, as specified. L’Equipe. It was implemented on the same day as the public broadcast French info It reported that several large construction companies carrying out work for games had been sued by workers without papers, accusing them of working without a contract and without respecting working hours, among other alleged wrongdoings.

According to CNN, citing sources from the French financial prosecutor’s office, the raid is linked to “two preliminary investigations” into financial irregularities involving contracts and public funds. The registry also included the headquarters of SOLIDEO, the public body responsible for much of the gaming’s construction and infrastructure work. One such investigation, always according to CNN, was opened in 2017 by the anti-corruption unit of the French police for “conflict of interest, embezzlement of public funds, favoritism and concealment of favoritism in various contracts” awarded by the organizing committee. A second preliminary investigation was opened in 2022 by a financial unit of the French police to examine “conflicts of interest, favoritism and concealment of favoritism in relation to the various contracts” awarded by the Organizing Committee and SOLIDEO.

The Olympic Games in Paris, in which there will be parity for the first time in the number of male and female athletes, will be held next year between July 26 and August 11. Tony Estangit, former Olympic champion, three-time Olympic champion, is the head of the organizing committee and has repeated many times that the Paris 2024 Games should be the Games of the “Athletes”. Of the 10 million already available, 6.8 million tickets have been sold. In an interview with EFE last April, he was asked about a report from the Board of Auditors published in January that highlighted doubts about the games budget (updated to 4400 million at the end of 2022). This is how Estanguet responded: “It is important to stress that so far no error has been discovered and that the decisions adopted have respected the ethical framework and good governance, and this is highlighted in the report. What the court is talking about in that report is future risks.”

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