For the second time in less than two weeks, the Paris 2024 Olympic headquarters has made headlines.
After the building was stormed by anti-pension reform protesters earlier this month, French police raided HQ on Tuesday in a corruption probe.
Police searched the building as part of an investigation into the awarding of public contracts, according to Politico, with the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee confirming that searches were carried out by “teams from the criminal police and the public prosecutor” in an internal email seen by Politico.
“A police search is currently underway at the headquarters of the Organising Committee. Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the investigators to facilitate their investigations,” the organizing committee said in a statement.
The raids were tied to two “preliminary investigations” into financial improprieties with contracts and public funds, the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office told CNN.
There were reportedly “several” different sites raided along with Paris 2024 HQ, including the headquarters of SOLIDEO, the public body responsible for a lot of the construction and infrastructure surrounding the Paris 2024 Games.
The headquarters of multiple private companies that have been awarded public contracts were also being searched on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously emphasized the importance of delivering a successful Olympics and said in March that the Games’ goal should aim to “welcome the world in the best possible conditions of safety, organization, social and ecological responsibility.”
The International Olympic Committee provided the following statement:
“We are aware that there has been a search by police of the Paris 2024 headquarters today. We have been informed by Paris 2024, that they are cooperating fully with the authorities in this matter and we would refer you to them for further information.”
A preliminary investigation opened in 2017 by a French police anti-corruption unit looked into “illegal conflict of interests, embezzlement of public funds, favoritism and concealment of favoritism targeting several contracts” awarded by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, according to CNN.
A second preliminary investigation opened in 2022 examined the charges of “illegal conflict of interest, favoritism and concealment of favoritism relating to several contracts” awarded by the Paris 2024 Committee and SOLIDEO.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11.
Embezzlement!?! More like Em-bezzt of luck to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games -lement
I was planning on travelling to Paris to watch pool swimming, registered for the ticket lottery as soon as registration opened, only to find out there were no tickets left when my time to purchase
I got a few ticket options for swimming… but I can only go over the weekend, because of work (I live in Austria, so travel to Paris wouldn’t be a big thing). The only option I’ve gotten so far was €1000 for a Saturday final session. Can’t really afford that, to be honest.
The French police are trying to get in on the action. Turn up the heat, then collect the hush money.
lol classic
Host the Olympics Without a Corruption Scandal Challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
The biggest rip off has to be the ticket prices, and the mechanism for selling them…
Yeah. You’d think Taylor Swift was in every event.
If any corruption scandal (or human Right see Catar and Now Texas for World Cup) related to OG and World Champs were actually investigated and criminalized, there would be no competitions (I Am not saying it is ok).
The 2026 FIFA WC will be in North America (Canada, U.S., Mexico). Including venues in Dallas and Houston.
It’s the comparing of the human rights record of Qatar and any state in the United States that I am referring to.
Abbot such a nice guy, he just approved a law rescinding city and county ordinances requiring mandatory water breaks for construction workers in the same week where many cities across the state reached triple-digit temperatures.
Such respect for human rights, right together with death sentence and ways to take voting rights. Such respect.
Also, I said texas has a history of disrespecting human rights (such as cages for kids separated from the parents), never said it was like Qatar. But it still got you mad
The kid cages started during the Obama era and that is an international border. Stop with the misinformation.