More Olympic Fun

You may have heard of a recent episode of BBC's Panorama titled "Buying The Games" which went undercover to expose the corruption in the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Even after the bribery scandals of Salt Lake City in 2002, it seems the IOC is as corrupt as ever.

"Representatives from the programme posed as consultants acting for clients with business interests in east London who wanted the games to come to London. The men who say they can help secure these votes are veteran Olympic insiders: professional agents who, in the past, have been paid hundreds of thousands of pounds by previous bid cities to help get IOC votes. These men have connections to influential figures within the IOC. All claim they have already been approached for their services by cities bidding for the 2012 Games."

Well guess what? One of the men appearing in the program is none other than Kuwait's representative, a Mr. Abdul-Muttalib Ahmed (never heard of him either). Here's the conversation that took place, excerpted from the full transcript of the program:

Meanwhile, our cover company, New London Ventures, had finally managed to get through to the most interesting agent of them all, a man who works at the very heart of the Olympic movement, the Kuwaiti Muttaleb Ahmad. He is the Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, the governing body of all amateur sports on the continent. The OCA runs Asia's biggest sporting event, the Asian Games, it is at the centre of the Olympic world too. It's part funded by the IOC itself. Mr Ahmad wanted us to come and see him at the Olympic council of Asia's headquarters here in Kuwait. We knew he'd worked as an agent before.

Mr Ahmad, how are you?
AHMAD: How are you?
ROWLATT: Very well indeed. Good to meet you. The Director General was paid $62,000 by Salt Lake City. He told us that the reforms brought in after the scandal meant Olympic bid business has to be conducted with discretion.
KUWAITI MUTTALEB AHMAD: Look we have to be extremely, extremely careful with this now with those.. what you call? Code of ethics that the IOC have. There is a thin line that you can still go parallel but sometimes you think that all the IOC members whose extremely cautious because he think he will step on toes. So you need persons who know that IOC member very closely to talk with him about it.
ROWLATT: Mr Ahmad confirmed that many of those who accepted gifts and benefits at Salt Lake City are still on the IOC, some in senior positions.
AHMAD: I would say 70% are still there.
ROWLATT: 70%?
AHMAD: Yes, of those who supposed to be? if you have say 20 people who are on the take ? and there were more ? The ones that are caught, it's only a few.
ROWLATT: A fraction. So you think 70% of the ones who took things are still there?
AHMAD: Oh yes. Yes.
ROWLATT: The Director General offered to use his connections to try and set up meetings with the 23 Asian IOC members.
AHMAD: You have to approach the IOC members not necessarily with an official appointment because they'd shy away from that.
ROWLATT: Okay.
AHMAD: They are not allowed to do it.
ROWLATT: But you could facilitate that.
AHMAD: Of course. Yes.
ROWLATT: So we would have a back door way.. we could go back to our client and say we can meet some of the IOC officials.
AHMAD: Yes.
ROWLATT: He told us that at least one of the Asian IOC members is already planning to vote for London, his boss at the Olympic Council of Asia.
AHMAD: Sheikh, automatically, he is going to London. We don?t really invest anything about that, okay?
ROWLATT: He will vote for London. He told us he wouldn't pay anyone himself.
AHMAD: I always shy away from clearly giving cash, I don?t do this, okay? I advise that this guy is in need and you.. your assistant has to go to.. I don?t act like that, you know.
ROWLATT: Yes.
AHMAD: Because I have my payment and I respect that jurisdiction, I don?t go beyond that.

ROWLATT: Consultant payment, yeah.
AHMAD: It's not that I carry cash for anybody.
ROWLATT: The director general told us about one IOC member who still
appreciates a direct approach.
AHMAD: There is the guy from XXX that person, you give him money, he will take the money still, even with those guidelines. But?
HOWARD: Sorry, he would take money to vote?
AHMAD: Yeah, but I wouldn't say it's from London. I talk to him, that this is the attitude of my boss and the OCA and our interests, we have a communication with them, and if this goes to London we'll be better off etc ..and he will be convinced.

ROWLATT: Since that meeting a spokesman for Sheikh Ahmad, El-Fahad,
El-Sabar told Panorama he had not decided which city to vote for, and it was a
decision he would never disclose. Panorama asked Mr Ahmad to comment on
what he'd told New London Ventures. He did not respond to our
inquiry.

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... Is it any wonder we're in such a mess?!

Knock yourselves out with this one!