Pat Hickey's legal team seeks to block Moran report

Former OCI president Pat Hickey

Pat Hickey says that his legal team in Dublin has warned against the publication of Judge Carroll Moran's report into the Rio ticketing scandal last summer as it might prejudice his trial in Brazil.

Sarah Keane, Hickey's successor as president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, last week called for the non-statutory State inquiry report to be published.

A draft version has been circulated to parties named in the report and it is believed the attorney general is now deciding whether it can be published, or partly published.

Speaking in an interview with Newstalk, the former president of the OCI said he not read the report but that he had been advised that its publication could affect his chances of a fair trial in Brazil.

He added: "Even worse still, any media reports can also be used by the prosecutor in Brazil against me."

"Now my senior counsel and junior counsel in Ireland were aghast at this … When my Brazilian lawyers confirmed this to my Irish lawyers, everyone got a big shock."

Almost a year has passed since Hickey was arrested and charged over an alleged scheme to sell Olympic tickets illegally.

He subsequently spent 12 nights in Bangu prison and several months in Brazil but he's back in Ireland now awaiting a court date in Rio.

Hickey said his upcoming criminal trial prevents him from going into specific details but he again re-iterated his innocence.

"I am totally innocent of all these charges and I will be proven innocent"

"This has been hugely traumatic for me, my wife, my children and my friends. Here I am at 72 years of age being forced to fight for my good name," he said.

"I am totally innocent of all these charges and I will be proven innocent."

Hickey also sought to clarify that he had not cost the OCI €1.5m, after Keane revealed last week the organisation had spent that sum to date on their report into the Rio scandal.

"The impression has been given that I was the cause of a spend of €1.5m by the OCI," he said.

"I can categorically tell you that is not the case because I have been able to check figures.

"My legal costs are around €280,000 and there is an insurance policy I put in place over 15 years ago.

"It is called directors' and officers' liability and it is particularly for something like what happened to me. The cover on that policy is €1m and my fees are taken out of that."

A statement released by the OCI this evening puts their legal expenses to date at €1.04 million, covering 12-15 sets of lawyers for directors and staff. The final figure for legal costs will not be known until proceedings come to a conclusion.

The International Olympic Committtee today confirmed to RTE News that they are following developments in the case closely and said that, "until the case is heard the will respect the principle of a presumption of innocence".

When that case will be heard remains to be seen.