'No Collective Responsibility' on IOC Part for Rio Scandal

(ATR) IOC PresidentThomas Bach says it's not the IOC's fault if allegations ofvote buying for bids from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 prove to be true.

Following a day long meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Lima, Bach said no organization is immune to individuals looking to subvert a rule-based system.

Earlier in the day the IOC EB acknowledged evidence presented by French prosecutors about disgraced former IAAF president and ex-IOC member Lamine Diack. Diack is under investigation in France on a range of allegations that include bribing IOC members to vote for Rio in 2009 and Tokyo in 2013, Diack's final year on the IOC.

The IOC statement said that "infringements from the past will also be addressed."

Diack was stripped of his honorary IOC membership in 2015, but now Carlos Nuzman is under suspicion of working with Diack in vote-buying for the RIo 2016 bid. Nuzman, president of the Brazilian Olympic Committeee and Rio 2016, retired from the IOC in 2012 and is now an honorary IOC member.

French and Brazilian authorities have interviewed Nuzman as part of an ongoing investigation into Diack's activities. Investigators seized cash, passports and other evidence in a search of Nuzman's home last week. Nuzman's lawyer has denied he broke any laws.

"There is very specific rules in granting the Olympic Games, those who have been violating these rules have been sanctioned or will be sanctioned when we have the evidence," Bach told reporters at the press conference.

"What can be expected from an organization is for this organization to have the rules and the necessary instruments in order to address this issue. This is precisely what we are doing and this is why there is no collective responsibility."

When presented with a list of scandals involving IOC members, and suggestions that Brazilian whistleblowers wrote to the IOC as far back as six years ago, Bach said, "we have clearly proven we are taking actions and we are addressing issues whenever they arise."

Bach cited approved changes to the 2026 Olympic candidature system as well as Olympic Agenda 2020 as proactive governance reforms by the IOC, attempting to hit back at credibility doubts.

"I think we made it clear in the statement that credibility for us is extremely important," Bach added. "We have strict rules and we have a proven track record to react on any infringements and this is what you can reasonably expect from an organization to do."

2026 Rules Approved

A stricter, more technical candidate procedure will be implemented for the 2026 Winter Olympic bid process.

Bach said the EB passed a series of reforms aimed at reducing campaigning by bid cities. The reforms come as the IOC prepares to award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics Wednesday to Paris for '24 and LA for 2028.

So far only Sion, Switzerland, has finalized a bid for the 2026 Olympic Games, but it could face a referendum. Innsbruck and Calgary continue to explore the feasibility of a bid, and Swedish Olympic officials have expressed a desire to revive a bid under the potential newrules.

"We have streamlined this system very clearly," Bach said. "We will be more proactive. It will be a more technical system, with a closer cooperation with the candidate cities.

"This will lead to less need of a campaign. This way we are very confident it will be a major step forward in the prevention of any kind of manipulation of the system."

Hurricane Irma Donation

The IOC says it will donate $1 million in Olympic Solidarity funds to NOCs in the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Irma.

"Then should this assessment lead to more necessities we will reassess this amount of $1 million," Bach said.

The IOC will work with PanamSports and Caribbean officials to monitor the damage done to NOC headquarters as well as sport facilities.

Written by Aaron Bauer and additional reporting done in Lima by Ed Hula

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