French investigators raided the headquarters of Paris Olympic organizers on Tuesday in an investigation into suspected corruption, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office. The police are looking into allegations of favoritism and misuse of public money in the attribution of construction contracts, according to the BBC.
The search was at their headquarters in the suburb of Saint-Denis and the Paris organizing committee said that “Paris 2024 is cooperating with the investigators to facilitate their investigations,” per The Associated Press. The offices at Solideo, the public body in charge of building projects for the games, were also raided, according to the BBC’s Hugh Schofield.
This is the third Summer Olympics in a row where the event’s organizers have been investigated for corruption. Vote-buying allegations linked to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2021 Tokyo Games resulted in the removal of several members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from that organization.The 2024 Summer Olympics are slated to take place from July 26 to August 11.
A previous probe was opened in 2017 when Paris was selected by the IOC to host the 2024 games regarding suspected embezzlement of public funds and favoritism, and concerns about an unspecified contract reached by Paris organizers. Another investigation in 2022 came after an audit by the French Anti-corruption Agency. The case targets suspected conflict of interest and favoritism involving several contracts reached by the organizing committee and Solideo.
The latest probe comes on the heels of Brigitte Henriques, France’s National Olympic Committee president, resigning in May after a period of infighting within the organization.
