Diack tells police of Russian political donation

PARIS, AP:

The Russian doping scandal took a new twist yesterday when a French newspaper reported that former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack asked Russia for more than $1 million to fund the political opposition in his native Senegal.

Diack told French police that he asked for 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) from Russia in 2011 to help finance the opposition ahead of Senegal's presidential election, Le Monde reported.

The request came at a time when the IAAF was dealing with a slew of suspected Russian doping cases.

French police took Diack into custody in November for questioning. He was subsequently placed under formal investigation on corruption and money-laundering charges. Le Monde said it has seen transcripts of his hearings.

France's national office for financial prosecutions has alleged that Diack, who presided for nearly 16 years at track and field's governing body, pocketed more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) in what prosecutors suspect was a corrupt scheme to blackmail athletes in exchange for hushing up suspected doping.

The IAAF has suspended Russia from international competition. Its athletes could miss the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August if their federation doesn't take remedial steps against widespread, systematic and allegedly state-sanctioned doping detailed in a damning report last month from a World Anti-Doping Agency investigative committee.