Brazilian police have arrested the chairman of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Carlos Nuzman as part of a probe into alleged buying of votes to secure Rio’s hosting of the 2016 Games.
The Police confirmed in a statement that Carlos Nuzman, 75, was arrested on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and criminal association.
According to reports, the federal judge had ordered the arrest.
The officers also arrested the Rio 2016 committee’s chief operating officer Leonardo Gryner, according to an AFP photographer.
Following an investigation dubbed “Unfair Play” that spanned several countries, Brazilian officials last month said Nuzman was the “lynchpin” in a plot to bribe the International Olympic Committee into awarding Rio de Janeiro last year’s summer Games.
At the time, Nuzman was detained and questioned and authorities confiscated his passport.
Authorities allege that former Rio governor Sergio Cabral, who is serving a 14-year prison term for bribery and money laundering, was the mastermind of the plot, which saw $2 million in bribes paid to the son of Senegalese IOC member Lamine Diack before the 2009 vote in which Rio beat Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo to win the 2016 Games.
Although the event is now in the past, but the level of corruption allegations stemming from the games is monumental.
