France to try former IAAF boss Diack and his son

PARIS (AP) — French legal authorities have decided to hold a trial for Lamine Diack, once one of the most influential men in Olympic sport, but who has been disgraced by investigations that uncovered corruption, extortion and doping cover-ups.

A French judicial official says Diack will stand trial on charges of corruption, influence-trafficking, and money laundering. The money-laundering charge, alone, carries a potential jail term of up to 10 years. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the planned trial publicly.

Diack was head of the IAAF for 16 years.

Also ordered to stand trial was one of Diack’s sons, Papa Massata Diack. He has emerged as a central figure in French judicial probes of suspected corruption involving the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and other sports events. The judicial official says the younger Diack will stand trial for complicity in corruption and money laundering. Believed to be living in Senegal, he could be tried in absentia.