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Brazilian police seek to question International Olympic Committee head

On Tuesday, a Brazilian state prosecutor, said he had made a decision to charge Mr Hickey and nine others with ticket touting, conspiracy and ambush marketing.

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Marcos Kac, a state prosecutor, said on Tuesday he chose to charge Olympic Council of Ireland President Patrick Hickey and nine others with ticket scalping, conspiracy and ambush marketing, after reviewing the police investigation.

Bach is now not in Brazil for today’s Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as he is attending the official state mourning ceremony for Walter Scheel, the former West Germany President, who died at the age of 97, in Berlin.

Despite six years of preparation for the high-profile event at the Maracanã, the International Olympic Committee chief cancelled his trip to Brazil, choosing instead to attend a memorial for the former West German president Walter Scheel.

However, the International Olympic Committee insisted they are ready to fully cooperate with Brazilian police, but say they have had no request for testimony from them.

The email was discovered after Rio police confiscated the computer of a third person, Martin Burk, also of the Irish Olympic Committee, at their delegation’s hotel.

Authorities told Reuters this week that the ring operated for around eight years and was preparing for other Olympic events such as the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.

“All tickets sold by PRO10 as the Irish ATR for the Rio 2016 Olympics were sold fully in line with the ATR guidelines”.

‘We are interested in talking to Thomas Bach, he has already been cited several times, ‘ said Ronaldo Oliveira, the head of specialized operations at the Civil Police said.

However, the public prosecutor in Rio has now confirmed that Burke is not named on the charges against Hickey and Mallon.

Investigator Aloysio Falcao said they found a July 2015 text from Hickey to Bach requesting more tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as for the football, basketball and 100-metre finals. It was unclear if he would attend other events at the Paralympics, which run until 18 September.

Hickey has stepped aside “temporarily” as an IOC member and all his other Olympic positions.

Police have estimated the profits from the black market ticket sales at about $3 million.

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In a phone interview, Kac confirmed that ten individuals, including Hickey, Mallon and Marcus Evans, the owner of hospitality company THG Sports, had been charged. He faces the same charges and must remain in Brazil.

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