French authorities raided the officers of Paris Olympic organizers on Tuesday amid a probe into suspected corruption, the country’s national financial prosecutor’s office said.
An official with the financial prosecutor’s office said the searches were linked to two preliminary investigations related to the 2024 Paris Olympics that had not previously been made public, according to The Associated Press.
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France’s Le Monde newspaper reported the raids also took place at the offices of the public body in charge of Olympic infrastructure and at the headquarters of several companies and consultants linked to the organization of the upcoming Games.
“Paris 2024 is cooperating with the investigators to facilitate their investigations,” the Paris organizing committee said.
One of the investigations was opened in 2017 over suspected embezzlement of public funds and favoritism and concerns about an unspecified contract reached by Paris organizers, prosecutors said.
The second probe was opened in 2022 after France’s Anti-corruption Agency conducted an audit. Prosecutors said the case targeted suspected conflict of interest and favoritism involving several contracts reached by the organizing committee and Solideo – the company in charge of Olympic facilities.
It is the third consecutive time an Olympic organizing committee has been investigated. The Paris Olympics are set to begin July 26, 2024.
“We are aware that there has been a search by police of the Paris 2024 headquarters today,” an International Olympic Committee spokesperson told Reuters. “We have been informed by Paris 2024 that they are cooperating fully with the authorities in this matter.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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