TOKYO, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- An investigative panel set up by the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) said Thursday that Tokyo's payment of over 2 million U.S. dollars to a Singaporean consultancy over its bid for the 2020 Olympics was not illegal.
The panel, consisting of two lawyers and an accountant, concluded in a report that the massive contracts that Tokyo's bid team signed with Black Tidings before winning the hosting of 2020 Summer Olympics were not bribery, as the team had not intended the money as a gift.
Black Tidings was led by Ian Tan Tong Han, a known associate of Papa Massata Diack, son of disgraced former IOC member Lamine Diack who had a vote in deciding the host city for the 2020 Games.
The panel said the bid team had no knowledge of the association between Tan and the younger Diack, though the team believed that Tan was in a position to gain access to secret information regarding the host city bid.
French authorities have been conducting their own investigation into whether the money led to the elder Diack.
Lamine Diack was arrested in 2015 on corruption and money laundering charges. His son Papa Massata Diack is also under investigation.
