This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Europe’s top Olympic official, Ireland’s Pat Hickey, has had an appeal for bail denied by a Brazilian judge and has been taken to Bangu maximum security prison in Rio de Janeiro.

Police arrested Hickey in a dawn raid on his hotel on Wednesday, in connection with an investigation into the illegal resale of Olympics tickets. The 71-year-old was admitted to Samaritano hospital for chest pain after his arrest, but released the next day into custody at a Rio police station.

The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) said on Friday it would commission an independent investigation into accusations of illegal ticket sales that led to the arrest of its longtime president Hickey.

The OCI also said it would scrap a previously announced internal inquiry, in a complete U-turn only days after saying no independent monitoring of its investigation was needed. “The OCI confirms that it will cooperate fully with any state inquiry into its handling of ticketing arrangements for the Rio Olympics,” it said in a statement.

“The OCI will now also commission its own independent inquiry into the ticketing arrangements for Rio 2016. The previously announced internal inquiry by the OCI has been discontinued.”

Brazilian police initially said they had discovered evidence linking the 71-year-old, who had headed the OCI since 1988 before temporarily stepping aside on Wednesday, to an international scheme to illegally pass Olympic tickets to touts who were reselling them at well above their original price.

Police also issued arrest warrants for three executives of the Dublin-based Pro10 Sports Management company.

They are recommending charges against Hickey and the executives for illegal ticket resale, criminal association and fraudulent marketing. Prosecutors have yet to decide on any charges.

Police allege Pro10 funnelled tickets to another company, THG Sports, whose director was arrested this week in Brazil. Pro10 and THG have denied wrongdoing.

Hickey has yet to make any comment. Ireland’s sports minister, Shane Ross, said on Thursday that the government was preparing its own judicial investigation and that he would finalise the terms of reference with the country’s attorney general on Friday.