The Senegal Government has denied allegations that President Macky Sall’s election campaign was funded by former IAAF President Lamine Diack, who, according to the Paris Le Monde daily, told French prosecutors he had asked the then-president of the Russian athletics federation, Valentin Balakhnichev, for 1.5 million Euros (approx. 1.6 million US$) to support Macky Sall in a forthcoming election. “I told him that to win the election, I needed about 1.5 million Euros,” Diack told investigators, according to Le Monde. Senegal’s government spokesperson Seydou Gueye said Macky Sall was in no way involved.
Diack has been placed under formal investigation in France on suspicion of corruption and money laundering following a complaint from the World Anti-Doping Agency last month. Le Monde quoted from what it claimed were transcripts of Diack’s interview with the police and an investigating judge in November.Valentin Balakhnichev, then the president of the Russian track federation, told Le Monde that he had not had any discussions about political financing with Diack.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.