The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is unclear about the exact accusations against Irish Olympic executive Patrick Hickey, an IOC spokesman said yesterday, more than 24 hours after Hickey’s arrest in a ticket scalping scandal.
Hickey, an IOC executive board member, was detained by police early Wednesday in his Rio de Janeiro hotel. Brazilian authorities suspect that he was involved in illegally passing on Olympic tickets to scalpers who sold them at inflated prices.
“As far as we know we haven’t had any details what the charges [are],” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.
Adams clarified that 700 tickets earmarked for the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) were at issue, less than the 1,000 he had mentioned on Wednesday.
The IOC has not been in contact with Hickey since his arrest and subsequent transfer into medical care.
“He’s in hospital and very difficult to get hold of,” Adams said, adding that the OCI, of which Hickey was president, also found it hard to reach him.
Pending the investigation, Hickey has temporarily stepped down from all his offices. He had also served as head of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and as deputy chief of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
Adams said he did not know whether Hickey would continue to receive the 900-dollar daily expense payments that IOC executives receive while attending the Games in Rio.