RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian police arrested on Thursday the head of the national Olympics committee, who is accused of conspiring to bribe members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to pick Rio de Janeiro as host of the 2016 Games.

Brazilian investigators say Carlos Arthur Nuzman helped arrange a bribe to get the Games for Rio de Janeiro, where he was arrested early on Thursday. Police said he was being held in connection with crimes including corruption and money laundering.

Marcelo Bretas, the federal judge who authorized his arrest, said new evidence indicated that Nuzman’s role in the alleged vote-buying scheme was “more relevant” than initially thought.

Following an investigation dubbed “Unfair Play” that spanned several countries, Brazilian officials last month said Nuzman was the “lynchpin” in a plot to bribe the IOC.

At the time, Nuzman was detained and questioned and authorities confiscated his passport.

Authorities allege that former Rio governor Sergio Cabral, who is serving a 14-year prison term for bribery and money laundering, was the mastermind of the plot, which saw $2 million paid to the son of Senegalese IOC member Lamine Diack before the 2009 vote in which Rio beat Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo to win the 2016 Games.

Businessman Arturo Soares, known as “King Arthur,” a top contractor for Cabral’s administration, is alleged to have delivered the payment three days before the IOC vote in Copenhagen in October 2009.

The Rio games were generally credited with being a sporting and organisational success, but revelations of massive corruption during the preparations and now even in the naming of the host city have tarnished the legacy.

On Thursday, police said Nuzman would be held because investigators found he had tried to hamper the investigation by regularizing assets likely gained with illicit money. About two weeks after being held for questioning, Nuzman amended his tax declaration to add about $600,000 in income, according to the arrest order.

“He clearly acted to obstruct the investigation,” said the order, adding that the lack of a clear origin of the extra money “indicated it was illicit.” Investigators said they had also recovered a key they believed was for a safe in Switzerland containing gold.

In Nuzman’s last 10 years as Brazilian Olympic Committee president, his net worth increased 457 percent, according to investigators.

“The accusation of vote-buying for the 2016 Olympics is unfounded,” Nelio Machado, a lawyer for Nuzman, told reporters. “Today’s measures are harsh and unusual.”

The IOC said on Thursday it would cooperate in the investigation. Its chief ethics and compliance officer has asked Brazil for information to proceed with its own internal investigation, which is ongoing, the body said.

“Given the new facts, the IOC Ethics Commission may consider provisional measures while respecting Mr. Nuzman’s right to be heard,” the IOC said, without detailing the measures.

Leonardo Gryner, a former director of the national Olympics committee, was also arrested in a new phase of the investigation.

Police raided Nuzman’s home in September, accusing him of conspiring with politicians to buy the right to host the 2016 Games. Sergio Mazzillo, a lawyer for Nuzman, said then his client was innocent.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2017