- IAAF 2017 IAAF vs Frank Frederikcs : decision provisional suspension
July 12, 2017
- IAAF 2017 Franks Fredericks vs IAAF : appeal provisional suspension
Austust 15, 2017
Mr Frank Fredericks is an IAAF Council Member and subject of an IAAF investigation concerning his suspected breaches of the IAAF Code of Ethics in connection with the payment of monies to an offshore company (Seychelles domiciled) owned and/or controlled by him, Yemi Limited from a company owned and/or controlled by Papa Massata Diack (PMD) (the son of the former President of the IAAF), Pamodzi Sports Consulting, on or about the date of the IOC vote which awarded Rio de Janeiro the 2016 Olympics.
Pending the investigation an provisional suspension was ordered on 12 July 2017 by the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal (DT) and Mr Frank Fredericks voluntarily withdraw from the IAAF’s Russian taskforce.
One of the reasons to impose a provisional suspension on Mr Fredericks is the that Papa Massata Diack (PMD) has been found by a Panel of the IAAF Ethics Board to have engaged in an extortion scheme in respect of the concealment of a positive drugs test by the Russian athlete Liliya Shobukhova. Mr Diack is also subject to investigation by the French police, and is subject to an Interpol red notice, in respect of broader lines of investigation by the French police including in respect of the award of athletics and other sporting competitions. In those circumstances, the origination of the sums from Papa Massata Diack’s company Pamodzi raises questions as to the propriety of the payment.
In July 2017 Mr Frank Fredericks filed an appeal against the imposed provisional suspension with the IAAF DT.
Mr. Fredericks argued that he could not have been aware of matters adverse to PMD at the time the controversial payments were made to Yemi, not least because those matters postdated the payments, though it recognizes that PMD’s role and motive in making them will necessarily form part of the proposed investigation.
The Panel finds it is impossible for Mr Fredericks to demonstrate that the case against him has no reasonable prospect of success considering the coincidence of the timing of the payments with the imminent vote on the selection of the host city for the Games. Also the documents produced by Mr Fredricks in his defence raises more questions than they answer.
The DT Panel concludes that there are no grounds to justify the lifting of the provisional suspension.
Therefore the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal Panel decides on 15 August 2017 to dismissed Mr. Frank Fredericks appeal for lifting the provisional suspension.
