Among those against whom police are seeking charges are Patrick Hickey, former head of the Olympic Council of Ireland, Martin Burke, the Irish council’s sports director, and Kevin Mallon, a director of worldwide sports hospitality company THG Sports.
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Pat Hickey has said he intends to fight the charges laid against him in a Brazilian court in relation to alleged ticket touting during the Olympic Games in Rio.
It comes as a Judge in Brazil is set to decide whether or not to accept cases against Pat Hickey and Kevin Mallon.
He added: “I have just received formal notification from the Brazilian authorities of the charges laid against me“.
Mr Hickey says this has been a life changing experience for him. “I intend to face all the charges and to fight each and every one of them”, he said.
“I have been very heartened and humbled by the outpouring of support, letters, texts and emails from the thousands of people in Ireland and from the worldwide sporting world”.
He has since temporarily stepped aside from his roles as OCI president, president of the European Olympic Committee and his post in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) while the investigation continues.
On Thursday, the Brazilian police announced that they wanted to interview Bach for his alleged links to a ring that sought to illegally sell tickets at a marked-up cost during the 2016 Rio Olympics. Detective Aloysio Falcao told local media he found a July 2015 text from Hickey to Bach requesting more seats for the most popular events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, and the finals of the football, basketball and 100-metre sprint.
“Mr Bach did not reply but we do know that Mr Hickey got 296 extra tickets for Rio and that is why we want to question the International Olympic Committee president”, he explained. His passport was confiscated, and he must remain in Brazil until the case is concluded. While no reply was made to that specific e-mail, shortly after, the IOC delivered a further 296 tickets to the Irish committee.
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On August 17, police arrested Patrick Hickey, who was president then of the Irish Olympic Committee, and Irish businessman Kevin Mallon in connection with this ticketing scandal.
