French prosecutors have requested that disgraced former International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) President Lamine Diack be sentenced to four years in prison and fined €500,000 (£448,000/$562,000). Diack is on trial in Paris for corruption, influence-trafficking and laundering money. Le Monde reports that prosecutors made the request on what is expected to be the penultimate day of the trial. A €500,000 fine would be the maximum amount permitted. Earlier this week, Diack admitted that he “unquestionably” should have been more vigilant during his time at the helm of the organisation. The Senegalese official was also unable to explain why his son – co-defendant Papa Massata Diack – and associated companies transferred €600,000 (£539,000/$679,000) into his bank account between 2011 and 2015.
The 87-year-old was IAAF President from 1999 until 2015 and an International Olympic Committee member between 1999 and 2013 but stood down as an honorary member in 2015 following his arrest. Diack has been under house arrest since November 2015, suggesting the chances of him serving time inside a prison are low. Papa Massata Diack, who handled valuable marketing rights for the IAAF, allegedly making millions of euros in “exorbitant” and illegal commissions, has refused to be extradited from Senegal so is being tried in absentia. He is alleged to have siphoned off €10 million (£9 million/$11.3 million) in one instance alone, when Russian bank VTB made a payment of €29 million (£26.1 million/$32.8 million) to sponsor the IAAF – since rebranded as World Athletics – from 2007 to 2011 but the International Federation only recieved €19 million (£17.1 million/$21.5 million). Prosecutors have requested a fiveyear prison sentence and €500,000 fine for the younger Diack.
