Businessman paid ?881 million by Tokyo's Olympic bid committee lobbied figure at center of French graft probe

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Businessman paid ?881 million by Tokyo’s Olympic bid committee lobbied figure at center of French graft probe

Haruyuki Takahashi, a former executive at advertising agency Dentsu Inc., was paid $8.2 million by the committee that spearheaded Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Games. | REUTERS

Reuters

Apr 5, 2020

TOKYO/PARIS – A businessman who received millions of dollars for his work on Tokyo’s successful campaign to host the 2020 Olympics, which were postponed in March due to COVID-19, has said he played a key role in securing the support of a former Olympics powerbroker suspected by French prosecutors of taking bribes to help Japan’s bid.

Haruyuki Takahashi, a former executive at advertising agency Dentsu Inc., was paid ?881 million ($8.2 million) by the committee that spearheaded Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Games, according to financial records reviewed by Reuters.

Takahashi told Reuters his work included lobbying International Olympic Committee (IOC) members like Lamine Diack, the ex-Olympics powerbroker, and that he gave Diack gifts, including digital cameras and a Seiko watch.