Paris Saint-Germain’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, has been placed under investigation for alleged corruption as part of an inquiry into the bidding process for the 2017 and 2019 athletics World Championships.

A French judicial official said the preliminary charge of “active corruption” was filed against Khelaifi, also the chair of the beIN media group, in mid-May in a case focusing on the payment of $3.5m to an IAAF official.

The official said Khelaifi was suspected of corruption “in regards with Qatar’s track and field worlds”. Khelaifi is from Qatar.

Khelaifi’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment and beIN declined to comment except to say the case “doesn’t relate in any way to the company”.

BeIN’s chief executive, Yousef al-Obaidly, faces preliminary charges of corruption, and the former IAAF president Lamine Diack is suspected of “passive corruption” in the same case.

According to Obaidly’s lawyer, the investigating magistrate Renaud Van Ruymbeke based his suspicion on documents showing that a former IAAF official received two payments totalling about $3.5m from Qatari investors before the vote for the 2017 World Championships. Qatar eventually lost to London but was later awarded the 2019 event. The championships will be held in Doha from 27 September to 6 October.

The two payments from Oryx Qatar Sports Investments, an investment fund linked to the Qatari government, were made to Pamodzi Sports Marketing in October and November 2011, days before the vote.

Obaidly’s representatives say the payments made by Oryx to the IAAF’s appointed agent were transparent and part of the normal bidding process. Set up to handle the sponsorship and rights for Qatar’s bid, Oryx agreed to pay $32.5m for the event’s commercial rights, including the $3.5m paid to Pamodzi as a non-refundable deposit. The full amount would have been paid only if Qatar’s 2017 bid had been successful.

According to the online news site Mediapart, Oryx is owned by Khelaifi and his brother, Khalid. Mediapart said Khelaifi was questioned by Van Ruymbeke in March and denied any knowledge of the payments.

Pamodzi was founded by one of Diack’s sons, Papa Massata Diack. A former marketing consultant at the IAAF, he has been banned for allegations of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Russian marathon runner who wanted to avoid a doping ban before the 2012 Olympics. France has issued a wanted notice for him via Interpol.

In another case, Brazilian and French authorities are trying to find out whether Lamine Diack and his son played a role in arranging alleged bribes to help Rio de Janeiro earn the hosting rights for the 2016 Olympics. Diack, who ran the IAAF from 1999 to 2015, has also been accused of covering up failed Russian doping tests in exchange for money.

Khelaifi is a member of the Uefa executive committee, representing European clubs, and is due to take part in the body’s meeting next Wednesday in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Khelaifi was selected as a club delegate and confirmed in the role by Uefa member federations in February, despite having been the subject of criminal proceedings for alleged bribery in Switzerland since 2017. He is suspected of bribing Fifa’s then secretary general with use of a luxury villa in Italy to help secure the 2026 and 2030 World Cup broadcasting rights in the Middle East for Doha-based beIN Sports.

PSG are also under investigation by Uefa for possibly breaking financial rules.