Four Charged By IAAF Amid Corruption Crisis

Former IAAF president Lamine Diack has been accused of accepting money to cover up doping

The IAAF ethics commission has brought disciplinary charges against four men, including the son of former president Lamine Diack and the former head of its anti-doping department, amid the corruption crisis engulfing international athletics. Papa Massata Diack, Valentin Balakhnichev, Alexei Melnikov, and Gabriel Dolle have been charged with various alleged breaches of the IAAF code of ethics.

Papa Massata Diack is a former consultant to the IAAF, Balakhnichev is the former president of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF), Melnikov is a former chief ARAF coach for long distance walkers and runners, and Dolle is the former director of the IAAF's anti-doping department.

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Their cases will be heard at a hearing in London on December 16-18, commission chairman Michael Beloff QC said in a statement on Friday evening.

Beloff said an investigation was "also ongoing in respect of an additional person".

The charges against the named quartet, which were issued in September, have been announced now after new IAAF president Lord Coe won approval to make "a significant amendment to the statutes of the IAAF code of ethics", the governing body said.

French police have already revealed Lamine Diack, who was succeeded as head of the IAAF by Coe at the end of August, is being investigated over an alleged payment of more than one million euros to cover up doping offences by Russian athletes.

The charges were announced by the ethics commission on the day the IAAF cancelled its annual glittering awards ceremony, the World Athletics Gala, due to take place in Monaco on November 28.

"Given the cloud that hangs over our association this is clearly not the time for the global athletics family to be gathering in celebration of our sport," Coe said.

Award winners will now be announced online.

The doping and corruption scandal broke in late 2014 when German broadcaster ARD alleged a number of positive dope tests involving Russian athletes were covered up by IAAF officials.

Lamine Diack and his adviser Habib Cisse have been formally interviewed by French police

Officers visited the headquarters of international athletics in Monaco on Tuesday and took documents. It is understood Coe was at the offices at the time and volunteered to speak to the investigators.

The World Anti-Doping Association will publish its independent report into allegations of widespread doping among Russian athletes on Monday.

The charges were announced on Friday after the lifting of restrictions which had prevented any disclosure of the ethics commission's activities until any disciplinary proceedings were completed.

The investigation into the four officials charged was sparked by a complaint received by the ethics commission into allegations surrounding Russian marathon runner Liliya Shobukhova and the covering up of her doping

Beloff appointed Sir Anthony Hooper, a recently retired Lord Justice of Appeal of England and Wales with particular expertise in criminal law, to investigate those allegations.

"In the course of Sir Anthony's investigations, he liaised with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in respect of the extensive and detailed investigation it has been undertaking with wider terms of reference and which is shortly to report its findings, and shared information with that agency," Beloff said.

Hooper submitted his report in August and recommended charges be brought against Papa Diack, Balakhnichev, Melnikov and Dolle.

The recommendations were endorsed by ethics commission member Kevan Gosper, a former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee.

The quartet's cases will be determined by an ethics commission panel made up of Beloff and two other commission members, Thomas H Murray and Akira Kawamura .

"In accordance with the rules of the ethics commission, the hearing will be held in private. The panel's determination will be published as soon as possible thereafter," Beloff added.

He added that the commission would also "pay close regard to any further information emanating from WADA or any other source".

One of the key parts of Coe's election campaign was to set up an anti-doping agency for athletics that was completely independent of the IAAF.

The IAAF said on Friday a team had been working on a proposal, which will be presented for the approval of the IAAF Council when it meets on November 26 and 27 in Monaco.