The chief executive of the Qatari media group beIN is under investigation for corruption by the French authorities, who suspect he paid bribes in a bid to help Doha host the World Athletics Championships.

Yousef al-Obaidly, who is on the board of directors at Paris Saint-Germain, is also under judicial investigation for “aggravated money laundering” according to Le Monde. The newspaper also says that Lamine Diack, the disgraced former head of the IAAF, athletics’ governing body, is also facing “passive corruption” charges by the National Financial Office.

New evidence of corruption over Qatar’s bid for 2017 world championships Read more

The case centres around two payments totalling $3.5m which were sent in October and November 2011 at a time when Qatar was bidding to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships and 2020 Olympics.

While those bids failed, Qatar later won the right to host this year’s World Athletics Championships. The Guardian understands that event will definitely go ahead whatever happens as the French judicial process only centres on the failed 2017 bid.

French investigators are understood to be looking into evidence that $3.5m was transferred from Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) – an arm of the Qatari government – to Pamodzi Sports Marketing, a company founded by Papa Massata Diack, a former marketing consultant at the IAAF and the son of the former president.

The contract stated that a first “non-refundable” payment of $3.5m is expected as soon as the contract is signed, a sum collected by Massata Diack’s company four days before voting for the 2017 world championships. According to Le Monde, PSG’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, said the transaction was facilitated by Al-Obaidly.

However, in a statement Al-Obaidly denied any wrongdoing. “I voluntarily attended an appointed meeting as part of a preliminary investigation. The allegations raised are not only utterly baseless and unsubstantiated, but they have been – quite remarkably – leaked to the media. For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, the allegations are completely and categorically denied and will be vehemently challenged using the full force of the law. It would not be appropriate to say anything further.”

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Massata Diack, who was banned for life from athletics in 2016 after being found guilty of corruption and also faces an international arrest warrant, said he was confident he would be found innocent of any wrongdoing over the 2017 Qatar bid.

“Now that a trial is set to take place in France, I will respond officially through my lawyers to all these stupid allegations,” he said. “I propose that you go to attend the trial to get my side of the story. See you in court.”

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