- Paris 2024 confirmed that its headquarters were raided by police on Wednesday
- In June, its headquarters were also raided during an investigation into Games contracts
- The investigation will continue in the run-up to next year’s Games in Paris
The headquarters of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were raided by police for the second time in four months amid an ongoing investigation into suspected corruption.
Paris 2024 organizers confirmed they were cooperating with the investigation by the country’s national financial prosecutor.
“Paris 2024 confirms that the PNF (parcet national financier) visited its headquarters on Wednesday, October 18 and obtained all requested information,” a statement said.
“Paris 2024 is fully cooperating with the investigation, as it has always done.”
News agency AFP reported that event management companies involved in the opening ceremony were also raided by police.
The headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were raided by police on Wednesday
The raids are reportedly part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the PNF.
The PNF opened a preliminary investigation in 2017 for alleged embezzlement of public funds and favoritism over a Paris 2024 contract.
In 2022, a second investigation was launched regarding contracts involving Paris 2024 and Solideo, the company responsible for the construction of Olympic venues and venues in Paris.
Paris 2024’s headquarters were initially searched in June, along with Solideo’s offices.
In June, the homes of Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois and Edouard Donnelly, the executive director of operations, were also raided.
Offices of the Paris-based consultancy founded by Thobois and Donnelly were also searched.
Financial prosecutors are investigating the awarding of contracts ahead of next year’s Olympics
Jean-Francois Bohnert, the head of the PNF, revealed last month that the investigation had not yet uncovered any serious corruption or influence fraud.
“It’s about cronyism, about illegal representation of interests,” he told French radio station RTL.
‘It’s about the way in which certain contracts are divided, the agreements.
“But I don’t see any elements, at least not at this stage, that would lead the investigation into the most serious cases of corruption or influence peddling.”
Bohnert added that he wanted to ensure the “smooth conduct” of next year’s Games.
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are scheduled for next year from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.