The controversy surrounds the Olympic Games in Paris when there is little more than a year left for the celebration of this great sporting event. This Tuesday there have been several searches in places linked to the organization of the Games within an investigation into irregularities in public markets.
The searches have been carried out at the headquarters of the organizing committee (Cojo), in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, and also at the company that is in charge of building the Olympic infrastructures (Solideo), as well as at other related companies.
The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) has confirmed to AFP the records, which take place within the framework of two investigations opened in 2017 and 2022 by the French Anti-Corruption Agency on suspicion of conflict of interest and favoritism in public contracts awarded within the framework of the organization.
The 2022 investigation is due to a possible conflict of interest in these awards and is in charge of the financial brigade of the judicial police. The other, which refers to 2017, is for suspicion of embezzlement of public funds, favoritism and cover-up of favoritism. The Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Fiscal Offenses is in charge of it.
Solideo, the company in charge of the works of the games, has confirmed the records to the AFP agency and has assured that it is collaborating with the investigators. The French Court of Auditors closely follows the activity of the Organizing Committee, since a few months ago they already expressed their concern about the increase in the cost of its celebration and the impact on public finances. The cost now amounts to more than 4,300 million euros.
Controversy surrounds these games for months. Just a few weeks ago, the president of the French Olympic Committee, Brigitte Henriques, resigned due to rivalries and internal conflicts within this body. In addition, there have been reports that some of the companies in charge of the construction of the Games are employing workers without papers in order to speed up the work.
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