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IAAF Council Member Bribed Delegates, Spanish Newspaper Claims

IAAF Council Member Bribed Delegates, Spanish Newspaper Claims

Mar 24, 2015 by Taylor Dutch
IAAF Council Member Bribed Delegates, Spanish Newspaper Claims




According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, Ahmad al Kamali, president of the Athletics Federation of the United Arab Emirates, offered Rolex watches to 40 African delegates during his campaign for IAAF Vice President in early March. 
 
Al Kamali, an ex-military judge secured election into the IAAF Council during the IAAF Congress before the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. He secured election with more votes (137) than any other candidate and has since risen through the ranks of IAAF Council. 
 
According to the investigation in El Pais, the IAAF Ethics Commission received a formal complaint against Al Kamali, stating that the president of the Athletics Federation of the United Emirates offered Rolex watches to 40 African delegates while campaigning for IAAF Vice President during the African Athletics Association Congress in Addis Abeba. 

Secretary of the IAAF Ethics Commission Tristan Jones responded over email when reached for comment.

“Article G24 of the Statutes of the IAAF Ethics Commission imposes strict confidentiality obligations on the commission, including a requirement that the Commission must not disclose the existence of any matter pending before it. Therefore we do not ever confirm or deny whether any complaint has been made,” Jones wrote.
 
The media source quotes an email sent from one president of an African Federation, who requested to remain anonymous. The source wrote:
 
“I heard of this matter and took part in many conversations and debates when I was in Addis. Some of the delegates were sufficiently responsible to return the watch they had received, or to leave them without opening in the room where they had been left as gifts.”
 
The president also claimed that he had been offered money and equipment from Al Kamali to help organize a competition in his country. Al Kamali stands as the Director of the Dubai Marathon, which holds one of the largest prize purses in the world at $200,000, offered to the winners of the male and female races. 

The media source’s claims of bribery from Al Kamali come four months prior to the elections for IAAF President, which will take place during the IAAF Congress in conjunction with the 2015 World Championships in Beijing this August.

IAAF General Secretary Nick Davies commented on the story over email when reached for comment: 
 
“I can only underline that the IAAF Ethics Commission is completely independent of the IAAF. As a result I can neither confirm nor deny that the Commission has received an official complaint about the matters mentioned in the El Pais article and whether the Commission has decided to open a case based on these allegations,” Davies wrote.
 
“I can also confirm on the record that Appendix 3 Clause 4 of the IAAF Code of Ethics relating to IAAF elections states that candidates should: ‘In no case and under no pretext giving presents or offering donations or gifts or granting advantages or benefits of whatever nature to or at the request of any party who will vote in, or who may otherwise influence, an election,” Davies wrote. 

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