French Anti-Corruption Authorities Raid Paris 2024 Olympics

French anti-corruption authorities conducted a raid today, on the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics organizing committee, known as Cojo, just over a year before the opening ceremony of the quadrennial sporting event.

The raid also targeted the offices of Solideo, the organization responsible for the Olympic construction sites. The specific details regarding the motive behind the raid have not been disclosed. However, Cojo has assured full cooperation with the investigators to facilitate the ongoing investigation.

This marks the first instance of a raid being carried out at the organizing committee’s headquarters. The search was conducted by investigators specializing in anti-corruption and financial crimes, along with the financial brigade of the Parisian police.

Two years ago, the French anti-corruption agency (AFA) published reports that highlighted potential risks related to integrity and conflicts of interest within the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The reports expressed concerns about incomplete and imprecise purchasing procedures, as well as insufficient oversight of potential conflicts of interest.

These raids add to a series of significant events that have impacted French sports in the past year. In May, Brigitte Henriques resigned as the president of France’s National Olympic Committee, leading the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to issue a statement urging an end to internal disputes within the committee.

Several sports federations, including football, rugby, gymnastics, and tennis, have been embroiled in scandals, resulting in the resignations of high-profile figures such as Noël Le Graët, the president of the French Football Federation, and Bernard Laporte, the former sports minister and president of the French Rugby Federation.

Despite these recent developments, the Paris Olympics are still scheduled to be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024.