Archival photo of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, France
PARIS (Reuters) – The headquarters of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (Cojop) is being raided by police in connection with investigations into suspicions of favoritism and embezzlement of public funds, said on Tuesday the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF).
Searches are underway at several sites, including the headquarters of Cojop and Solideo, the public establishment responsible for Olympic infrastructure, the prosecution told Reuters.
An investigation, opened in 2017, relates to “heads of illegal taking of interests, embezzlement of public funds, favoritism and concealment of favoritism targeting several contracts awarded in particular by the Cojop”, indicates the PNF.
The second, launched in 2022, relates to “heads of illegal taking of interests, favoritism and concealment of favoritism relating to several contracts awarded by Cojop and Solideo, following an inspection by the French Anti-Corruption Agency” .
The Cojop had indicated earlier in the morning to Reuters that a search was underway at its premises.
“Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the investigators to facilitate their investigation,” the committee said, without giving further details.
“We have nothing more to add at this time,” a spokesperson said.
“We are aware that a search has been carried out at the headquarters of Paris 2024,” said a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“We have been informed by Paris 2024 that they are fully cooperating with the authorities on the subject,” he continued.
The total budget for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games reached 8.8 billion euros, after an initial budget estimated at 6.6 billion euros in 2017.
These searches come as the IOC Executive Board is to meet on Tuesday to take stock of the preparations, just over a year from the Paris Olympics.
The Olympic Games will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024 and the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 6, 2024.
This is not the first time that an Olympic organizing committee has been the subject of an investigation. Japanese prosecutors have started legal action against several local companies suspected of rigging tenders related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
(Report by Julien Pretot, written by Zhifan Liu and Kate Entringer, edited by Blandine Hénault)