Former Rio Governor Connected to Olympic Bribery Case

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Former Rio governor Sergio Cabral has been directly implicated in a bribe to buy a key vote in securing the rights to host the 2016 Olympics, according to the Sports Integrity Initiative.

Cabral reportedly collaborated with Arthur César de Menezes Soares Filho (known as “King Arthur”) in paying former International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) President Lamine Diack $2 million in exchange for his vote. The Matlock Capital Group, owned by “King Arthur,” passed on the money to Papa Massata Diack, Lamine’s son.

Cabral has already been imprisoned for 14 years, effective this past June, for his involvement with a criminal organization and for accepting bribes. A warrant has been placed for the arrest of “King Arthur,” while former Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Nuzman has been detained, per SII.

Swimming World reported Wednesday that a warrant had been issued for Nuzman’s arrest in relation to the same bribery scandal.

SII’s Andy Brown provided an overarching analysis of the situation:

“Brazil’s Federal Police said that the investigation encompasses bribes paid in return for the hiring of contractors by the State Government of Rio de Janeiro. ‘Payments have been made either directly through the delivery of cash, through the awarding of fictitious service contracts and also through the payment of personal expenses’, read a statement.

“It said it could not rule out the possibility that State money had been siphoned out of Brazil through such subcontractor agreements in order to buy votes to appoint Rio as host of the 2016 Games. It is understood that ‘King Arthur’ specialized in such sub-contracting agreements and was involved in many construction deals relating to the Games through his Grupo Facility company.”

This sting of arrests and warrants in Brazil relating to the Olympic bribery issues all stem back to investigations opened by French police group Parquet National Financier (PNF) that related to information passed on from the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The first figure to be arrested was Lamine Diack, in August of 2015, and the investigation expanded its scope to include the awarding of the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo and later the 2016 Olympics to Rio as well as numerous other global events in athletics.

In addition to French and Brazilian authorities, investigators from Antigua and Barbuda, the United Kingdom and the United States have all been involved.

Read more from the Sports Integrity Initiative by clicking here.

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